Thayer Rockne Thomas (born May 20, 1998) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

for the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

NC State Wolfpack The NC State Wolfpack is the nickname of the athletic teams representing North Carolina State University. The Wolfpack competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subd ...

Early life

Thomas grew up in

Wake Forest, North Carolina Wake Forest is a town in Wake and Franklin counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located almost entirely in Wake County, it lies just north of the state capital, Raleigh. At the 2020 census, the population was 47,601, up from 30,117 in ...

and attended Heritage High School. In his high school career, he racked in 74 receptions for 965 yards and 7 touchdowns. Thomas decided to walk on to

North Carolina State North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina sy ...

College career

Thomas started as a walk-on for the Wolfpack redshirting the 2017 season. He earned a scholarship in 2018. Thomas would go on to play five years for the Wolfpack, recording 215 receptions for 2,484 yards, and 24 touchdowns. He also added 681 return yards and a return touchdown. He would also have a slight impact as a passer going 7 for 14 for 194 yards and four touchdowns. In 2020 he was named Third team All-

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...

as a returner after returning 10 punts for 100 yards. His best season occurred during the 2021 season where he brought in 51 passes for 596 yards and 8 touchdowns. He also had a good season in 2022 in which he hauled in 57 receptions for 642 yards and 4 touchdowns. During his time at NC State he set multiple records for the Wolfpack finishing 2nd all time in receptions, 2nd all time in receiving touchdowns, and 5th all time in receiving yards.

Professional career

After not being selected in the

2023 NFL draft The 2023 NFL draft was the 88th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2023 NFL season, 2023 season. The NFL draft, draft was held outside of Kansas City Union Station, Union Station i ...

, Thomas signed with the

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

on May 3, 2023. He was waived on August 29, 2023, and signed to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

the next day. Following the end of the 2023 regular season, the Vikings signed him to a reserve/future contract on January 8, 2024. Thomas was waived by the Vikings on August 27, 2024, and re-signed to the practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 16, 2025.

Personal life

Thomas is the older brother of current NFL linebacker Drake Thomas.

References

External links

*
Minnesota Vikings bio

North Carolina State Wolfpack football bio

North Carolina State Wolfpack baseball bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Thayer 1998 births Living people Players of American football from North Carolina People from Wake Forest, North Carolina American football wide receivers NC State Wolfpack football players NC State Wolfpack baseball players Minnesota Vikings players