Third-round draft pick Zavion Thomas, a receiver and return specialist from LSU, possesses two traits the Bears covet in their players.
The Louisiana native displayed both speed and versatility in college, at the NFL Combine and again last week during rookie minicamp at Halas Hall.
Last year Thomas caught 41 passes for 488 yards and four touchdowns, rushed for 99 yards and one TD on 19 carries and averaged 9.0 yards on 17 punt returns.
The 5-10, 190-pounder transferred to LSU in 2024 from Mississippi State, where he averaged 12.6 yards on 29 punt returns with one TD in two seasons and established career highs in 2023 with 40 receptions for 503 yards.
Thomas then boosted his draft stock by running a blazing 4.28 in the 40 at the combine.
"The first thing that leaps off the tape is the speed element that he brings," said offensive coordinator Press Taylor. "Obviously we know he's a dynamic returner. He's got a variety of experiences that when you look at his college career—lining up at running back, taking handoffs from the backfield, being out on the edge, playing inside the numbers—you see the speed, you see the complementary aspect of what he could potentially be with our group."
How much of an impact Thomas makes as a rookie will depend on how rapidly he develops.
"He's going to have to earn it," Taylor said. "And that comes in the meeting room first; earning some trust to get your reps, showing that you can be trusted when you get there and then being able to do something with it. Just like anybody, he's going to put in a lot of time, put in a lot of work, and we'll see where he goes."
Thomas told reporters during rookie minicamp that he spoke to coach Ben Johnson as part of the orientation process.
"We had a long conversation, him just telling me what's the expectations here and hopefully what my role will be," Thomas said. "It's all going to be dictated [by] me how I grasp the offense and stuff like that, so it's all going to be up to me."
Hall of Famer in the house
Thomas lamented that he didn't get a chance to meet Devin Hester, who attended Friday's rookie minicamp practice. Like most return specialists on earth, Thomas admires the Bears Hall of Famer.
"He was actually here and I didn't see him," Thomas said. "I didn't realize. But just being familiar with his game, being familiar that he's the best kick returner of all time, and me being able to play the same position as him, watch his film and stuff like that, it's a blessing."
Thomas added that Bears special teams coordinator Richard Hightower on Saturday morning "was showing us more Devin Hester highlights, just putting it back in our head that he's the GOAT."
Difficult challenge
It certainly won't be easy, but rookie center Logan Jones should benefit from facing coordinator Dennis Allen's defense in offseason and training camp practices.
"The biggest thing is just the beauty of DA's defense," Taylor said. "He is going to see every front known to man in OTAs alone, so that's just going to prepare him. That gets your head spinning a little bit and you're making a bunch of different calls. A lot of things come up through the course of plays that were maybe discussed in passing, but you can't walk through every single look. So by getting all these different looks that our defense presents, I think that's just really going to train him and get him ready.
"Then you get to the speed of the game and potentially with joint practices, preseason games, all this experience just accumulates. And we'll see how it shakes out at the end of this."
Center is one of the most difficult positions to play as a rookie.
"Every single week there's somebody across from you who was probably a college All-American or maybe he's a 12-year vet in the NFL, so they all present their different challenges," Taylor said. "Whether you're playing a 320-pound nose or a 300-pound nose who is super quick or they're putting typically a defensive end inside in certain pass rush situations, that's probably not as much as you see in the college game.
"And for us, our center really kind of drives the system. He's making all the IDs. The quarterback will reaffirm them a lot of time … (but) everybody's kind of waiting on the identification process from the center. I'm not sure that happens with all the college systems. It definitely didn't used to as there were a lot more up-tempo systems in college. Now, I don't necessarily know how things have changed with the quarterback communicator being in the huddle a little bit more, if the centers are taking on more in college. But I think that's one element that I think is a little bit different from college to the pros."
