Vikings rookie NaJee Thompson makes mark on special teams by flashing special speed

NaJee Thompson is so fast that he already had an NFL-ready nickname before Matt Daniels, the Vikings' moniker-maker extraordinaire, could spring one on him.

"I came in telling Hat I like to be called Flash," said Thompson, the undrafted rookie from Georgia Southern, referring to Daniels, the Vikings special teams coordinator, by his nickname. "I got that from some reporters back home in South Carolina. It means a lot to me."

Score one for the Fourth Estate in general and longtime Boiling Springs, S.C., sportswriter James McBee in particular because this young man can fly. In 14 special teams snaps in his NFL preseason debut in Seattle last week, Thompson's speed leapt off the screen on at least two occasions as a gunner — once when he separated from a blocker and tackled a punt returner for no gain and once when he chased down a punt and downed it at the 2-yard line.

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"I used to joke with NaJee, saying he looked like a flash going by," said McBee, who covers Boiling Springs High School for the Boiling Springs Sports Journal website.

"First time I ever saw him, they elevated him from the JV squad, and he's wearing No. 82 at defensive back. I said, 'Who the heck is the DB wearing 82 and why is he up here on varsity?' Then I saw his speed and said, 'Oh.'"

The gridiron isn't where the nickname was solidified forevermore. That came May 12, 2018, in Columbia, S.C., when Thompson won the Class 5A 200-meter championship in 21.06 seconds, a state record, breaking the mark set by Tavien Feaster, the former Clemson and South Carolina running back who has bounced around the NFL and CFL the past four seasons.

"I still have a screenshot of the 'Flash Thompson' article," said Thompson, 23, as he scrolls through his phone and produces the front page of the sports section of the Spartanburg Herald Journal. There's a photo of him crossing the finish line under a big headline that reads, "Flash Thompson."

Jed Blackwell wrote that article, using the nickname for Thompson that McBee had spread locally to other scribes.

"NaJee never really did get great breaks coming out of the blocks," McBee said. "But the distance he'd make up was crazy to watch. These other kids were the best sprinters in the state, and you'd still swear NaJee was running against middle schoolers.

"Stephen Davis, the old Redskins and Panthers running back, is from Spartanburg. He used to beat Tim Montgomery, who is from Gaffney, South Carolina, and went on to become the fastest man in the world. Years later, NaJee was running faster times at the county meet than Stephen did."

Daniels likes Thompson's speed and loves his longtime devotion to special teams. Thompson went to Georgia Southern as a backup receiver and finished as a starting cornerback. But he always identified as a special teamer, period.

"That's who he is at his core," Daniels said.

Amen, says Thompson, listed as a 5-11, 205-pound cornerback.

"Senior Night in high school against Clover, I scored every way possible," Thompson said. "Pick six, punt return, threw a touchdown pass, had a rushing touchdown and had over 300 all-purpose yards.

"But my freshman year at Georgia Southern, I told them I don't want to play offense or defense. I want to go straight to special teams. I showed I can play offense or defense, but special teams, special teams, special teams. That's my ticket to the league."

Thompson did it all on special teams at Georgia Southern. In 2018-19, he had four fumble recoveries, blocked a punt that was returned for a touchdown and forced a fumble. He blocked two more punts in 2020. A year later, Pro Football Network named him first-team All-America as a special-teams player.

"We knew kind of his ability as a special teams type of player, kind of in that Matthew Slater-esque quality of speed, power, smarts, toughness," said Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell, who is close friends with Slater, New England's 10-time Pro Bowl special teamer who's still an active player at age 37.

"[Thompson] flashed on special teams. You constantly see him around the football."

Daniels had his eye on Thompson for a while, liked what he saw and looked past Thompson's combine 40 time of 4.6.

"Coach Daniels knows film don't lie, and I'm no 4.6," Thompson said. "That 40 time hurt me a lot. I don't think it was accurate, but that's what they put out there, and I will carry that chip on my shoulder forever."

Oh, and by the way, Flash's state record came while winning his second state championship back on May 12, 2018.

"I won the 400 first," Thompson said. "Ran a 47.03. I was so homed in on the 200 that if you watch the video, I never ran the 400 full speed. I could have set the record, but I just ran it fast enough to beat everybody else."

The Vikings are looking for some speed and attitude on special teams with Kris Boyd now in Arizona. Why not a guy who arrived calling himself Flash?

"I think I showed the NFL something in Seattle last week," he said. "The lights don't get too bright for me."