Zavier Scott has been an afterthought during his time with the Minnesota Vikings. He signed with the practice squad two days after roster cutdown day in 2024, replacing DeWayne McBride, who had initially made the practice squad. The Vikings announced that signing alongside another player. When he signed a futures deal with the team in January, he was one of 13 players included in that announcement.
Later in the offseason, the team brought back Aaron Jones in free agency, traded for Jordan Mason, and added Tre Stewart as a UDFA. Add in fourth-year Ty Chandler, and even if 53-man roster projections decided to get spicy, they would put the rookie Stewart in place of Chandler, not Scott.
It’s easy to overlook a player who went to a school, Maine, that currently has only one other NFL player, Patrick Ricard. Scott didn’t go to the combine and switched from WR in college to RB in the NFL. He began his NFL career in 2023, but has yet to make a team.
On Saturday against the Houston Texans, Scott may have changed that. He led the Vikings in yards from scrimmage, with seven carries for 40 yards and one reception for 11. He was efficient, as six of his eight touches went for more than five yards. Scott also converted four first downs, including setting up a first-and-goal that Sam Howell snuck in for a TD.
Athletically, Scott tested quite well for an RB back in 2023. He has nice size at 6’0″, 219 lbs., and ran a respectable 4.49-second 40-yard dash (some sources have it listed at 4.50 seconds). He had great jumps, highlighted by a 37.5″ vertical jump, and strong agility with a fantastic 4.11-second short shuttle.
I watched Scott’s game to see if he demonstrated that athleticism and lived up to the stats he posted despite limited touches. For the record, I also watched Chandler’s game and thought he was mostly fine despite the poor line of five carries for five yards. I thought he made a bad read on his final attempt, but the blocking in front of him mostly held him back.
reading blocks
In his carries, Scott showed the ability to find the right hole to attack, and to do so with nuance.
The play below was his first attempt, and it’s an inside zone run with a “split” block by WR Thayer Thomas. Scott’s goal is to press his initial angle and draw the LBs in before cutting behind Thomas.
You can see that he does just that, sucking No. 32 up to be blocked by the double team combo of C Michael Jurgens and LG Henry Byrd. You can also see a subtle movement Scott makes to get skinny through the hole, sidestepping Thomas’ inside foot. That culminates in a respectable seven-yard gain on first down.
Road-grading double team by Huber and Brandel. Byrd and Jurgens did a nice job too, and Nesbit held his own against the edge. All of this allows Scott to follow Thomas' split block for a nice gain. Good quick decision to get upfield.
— Matt Fries (@friesfootball.bsky.social) 2025-08-12T22:02:44.035Z
I thought Scott generally did a nice job of reading plays out and finding the appropriate creases. Plays in the subsequent sections will focus on other attributes, but it’s worth noting that I think they were partially due to good reads by Scott. However, there were two plays that I want to highlight, which have blemishes that I hope Scott will be able to clean up as he becomes more confident in game action.
This first play isn’t so much a missed read as it is a hesitance to execute on a good read. The Vikings are running outside zone with a pitch to Scott, and the blockers do a fantastic job across the board. While the initial aiming point is to the outside edge, the DE ends up outside of TE Bryson Nesbit. That’s okay, as long as Nesbit controls him (and he does), because the beauty of a zone run is that you just keep cutting back gaps until one is open. Scott finds that gap and cuts off Jurgens’ block for a five-yard gain.
However, I have reason to believe those five yards could have turned into a lot more. Scott ended up tackled by No. 47, who was unblocked as the backside defensive end. Getting caught from behind wasn’t due to a lack of burst, but rather hesitation.
You can see Scott decide to cut upfield as his feet are on the white of the 15-yard line. At that point, it would be best for him to stick one foot in the ground and explode forward. Instead, he stutters, taking three even steps before fully running vertically. That allowed the defender time to catch up with him.
If that hadn’t happened, he would have had a one-on-one with the deep safety, and potentially a touchdown:
This is a really well blocked run. Leroy Watson pancake, Jurgens and Rouse climbing to the second level, and Huber and Byrd cutting off defenders. I wish Scott had been more decisive with his cut. You can see him hesitate for a step while turning upfield, and he gets caught from the back side.
— Matt Fries (@friesfootball.bsky.social) 2025-08-12T22:15:40.371Z
The final play was a bigger mistake from Scott, but also more difficult execution.
On the play, RT Walter Rouse got knocked back, and Scott needed to run wide outside of him. That made it difficult for him to turn upfield inside Thomas, who was blocking a DB with outside leverage. Scott ran right into the DB for his only negative yardage play of the game.
Bouncing runs like this is something that often plagues younger DBs who are used to being better athletes than their opponents. It didn’t happen on other plays, so I’m not ready to call it a trend, but it’s worth monitoring as Scott continues to play in the preseason.
I think Zavier Scott was too trusting of his speed on this rep. Would have loved to see him cut this upfield between Rouse and Thomas. Rouse got knocked a little far into the backfield for my liking, making it a difficult cut, but Thomas was keeping the DB outside of him, anticipating a cut upfield.
— Matt Fries (@friesfootball.bsky.social) 2025-08-12T22:19:26.151Z
athleticism
Scott’s athleticism showed up nicely throughout the game. He clearly has good burst in order to hit the hole and beat defenders to their spots. The run below is a good example, where No. 32 is virtually unblocked in the hold. Scott is still able to run right past him, and he gets nine yards inside the red zone, a compressed space.
Michael Jurgens and Will Huber opened up a wide hole on this run, but Byrd was unable to get to the second level quickly so the LB ended up mostly unblocked. Zavier Scott had the burst to beat the LB through the hole on a nice run.
— Matt Fries (@friesfootball.bsky.social) 2025-08-12T22:07:22.576Z
This play was arguably Scott’s most impressive run. He has to not only outrun an opposing DT, who went backdoor on the LG, Byrd, but he also had No. 32 outrun LT Leroy Watson to his spot. Scott had the acceleration to burst past the first, the balance to break the tackle of the second, and eventually worked the run out of bounds for 12 yards.
LT Leroy Watson was unable to get up to the second level and get the LB, and Henry Byrd got beat inside, but Zavier Scott showed the burst to beat both defenders to the hole and get a nice gain. Good blocks by Vannett, Yurosek, Huber, and Jurgens on the play as well (and Tai Felton against a CB!).
— Matt Fries (@friesfootball.bsky.social) 2025-08-12T22:12:00.888Z
contact balance
At nearly 220 lbs., Scott has very good size for an RB. He demonstrated this by running through arm tackles, as seen in the play above, and other examples of contact balance. Minnesota’s OL gets good push on the play below, moving the line of scrimmage about three yards, but there isn’t a wide crease for Scott to run through. That’s okay, because rather than try to dance around, he works through the back of Rouse to pick up a couple of extra yards.
LT Leroy Watson was unable to get up to the second level and get the LB, and Henry Byrd got beat inside, but Zavier Scott showed the burst to beat both defenders to the hole and get a nice gain. Good blocks by Vannett, Yurosek, Huber, and Jurgens on the play as well (and Tai Felton against a CB!).
— Matt Fries (@friesfootball.bsky.social) 2025-08-12T22:12:00.888Z
Scott can also make would-be tacklers miss, like on the screen play below. He works to the correct space inside of RT Blake Brandel‘s block, and bursts past a DT, but ends up with a safety in front of him and the DT chasing him from behind. Scott was able to use the tackle attempt by the DT to enter a spin move and make the safety completely whiff, then turn back upfield.
I’d prefer him to get his pads a bit lower against the LB who eventually tackles him, but that’s a nearly impossible ask coming out of the spin. As it is, he keeps his feet driving and still picks up a couple of extra yards while being tackled, ending with 11 yards on the play and a first down.
Blake Brandel and Michael Jurgens did a good job of getting to their second level targets on the screen, and Zavier Scott showed nice burst to get upfield past a trailing defensive lineman. He showed the balance to spin off the first tackle attempt and push for extra yardage.
— Matt Fries (@friesfootball.bsky.social) 2025-08-12T22:05:51.233Z
The final play is an example of Scott driving the pile on the goal line. He may have slightly missed a read here, but given that the play was on second-and-one, it’s valid for him to lower his shoulder and drive the pile. That’s exactly what he does, gaining two yards to convert the set of downs, and setting up a TD on a QB sneak.
I felt that Zavier Scott could have tried to run between the double teams on this play, as the LB gave him good leverage to do so. However, he did a good job pushing the pile on the gap he did choose, and it led to a QB sneak TD by Howell on the next play.
— Matt Fries (@friesfootball.bsky.social) 2025-08-12T22:08:52.750Z
blocking
The final aspect of an RB’s game is pass protection. It’s often overlooked, but critical because teams will not put in an RB who can’t pass protect on third downs. Throughout his career, Chandler hasn’t shown he can pass protect. From brief exposure, it seems that Scott hasn’t mastered it either, but I like where his head’s at.
On the play below, Scott is likely supposed to leak through the middle of the line as a checkdown option. There are no blitzes, so Minnesota’s five offensive linemen should be able to pick up four rushers. However, RG Joe Huber trips over Brandel’s foot, causing both to fall. That could lead to disaster, as now two opposing defenders are unblocked, but Scott makes a great adjustment to pick up the DT that Huber was supposed to block.
Scott’s quick response gave QB Sam Howell enough time to complete a tight window throw to WR Lucky Jackson.
Howell's throw just clears the LB's hand and Lucky Jackson makes a great catch with the DB on his back.Huber and Brandel tripped over each other (looks like Huber got too wide), but Zavier Scott stepping up and hitting the DT helped keep Howell clean to make the throw.
— Matt Fries (@friesfootball.bsky.social) 2025-08-12T21:59:55.965Z
Scott also showed ability when asked to chip help. In the play below, the Vikings are using multiple blockers to pick up a defensive end. That allows the Vikings’ OL to try to sell play-action as a duo run play, trying to suck up the linebackers.
First, both TEs, Ben Yurosek and Nick Vannett, work to block the DE before Yurosek releases in a checkdown. This leaves Scott to help chip, and he does a good job of impacting the DE as he tries to make an inside move, helping Vannett regain control of his block. In these situations, you don’t want to hit too hard as chip help, because you may knock the defender off of his blocker in the opposite direction.
The combo of Vannett, Yurosek, and later Zavier Scott did a good job against the edge here. Great protection across the board really, and while Rypien was unable to find an open receiver downfield off of play action, he did scramble for a decent gain.
— Matt Fries (@friesfootball.bsky.social) 2025-08-12T22:13:34.214Z
This final play demonstrates that Scott still needs to grow. On it, he’s protecting to the QB’s blind side against a DB blitz. He squares up, but isn’t able to effectively land his punch as the DB spins.
By punching with both hands and failing to make a strong impact, Scott opened himself up for someone to run by him, and the defender hits Howell in the back after he releases his throw. It’s fortunate that the ball got out, but Scott will need to learn to vary up his timing with a one-two punch or get a strong grip when he does punch with two hands to stop himself from getting beaten in the future.
Zavier Scott whiffed on this pass pro rep as the DB spun past him to get a touch on Howell. Fortunately the ball got out.
— Matt Fries (@friesfootball.bsky.social) 2025-08-12T22:00:53.032Z
Will Scott Unseat Chandler?
Right now, I think Zavier Scott is better at pressing holes and finding the right read than Chandler. I noticed a few blemishes from Scott, but Chandler has consistently struggled at reading blocking throughout his career, and Scott showed some high-quality reads.
As an athlete, I don’t think Scott has Chandler’s high-end speed, but he has plenty of burst, just like Chandler. Whatever you lose with Scott in terms of top-end speed, I think you gain in contact balance and ability to push the pile.
As a pass protector, neither Scott nor Chandler appears to be ready to play full-time. However, Chandler tends to make mental mistakes, while I saw only good reads from Scott in his (admittedly limited) attempts. I think Scott may end up a better pass protector than Chandler. It’s also noteworthy that Scott was a significant contributor on special teams, with 12 snaps throughout the day. Chandler played 146 special teams snaps in 2024.
As it stands, I’m not sure Zavier Scott has done enough to unseat Ty Chandler for Minnesota’s RB3 job, but it’s close. Another strong performance in the next two preseason games could solidify Scott’s case for the roster.