Chicago Bears third-round rookie Zavion Thomas is going to do whatever it takes to make an impact as a rookie. Special teams coordinator Richard Hightower believes that he can have role right out of the gate because he brings the right mindset to practice.
The Chicago Bears must get an immediate impact from rookie Zavion Thomas
The Bears drafted Thomas in the third round, so it is clear that they plan to get some sort of impact from him. However, Thomas had 1,217 receiving yards in his four-year career and had 493 yards during his senior season at LSU. He averaged just 1.5 yards per route run in college, so it is hard to see him translating any sort of production to the NFL.
Ben Johnson has been clear that they have a plan for him, and the early indications are that wide receiver is secondary. Thomas has reportedly been working out at running back at times, and is more of a hybrid weapon than he is a wide receiver.
Now, Hightower is saying that he will have an immediate impact on special teams. Thomas is likely to be a return man, and that makes sense considering he did that in college.
However, it is worth noting that Thomas only had 35 kickoff returns in college compared to 61 punt returns. He was not the team's kick return option during his senior season despite returning kicks in 2024. So, LSU did not view him as that dynamic of a return man and saw a better option on their own roster. Can Thomas really be the best return man on the Bears if that is the case?
This is similar to Velus Jones, who was drafted in round three by the Bears because he would be a return game threat. However, Jones hardly had experience as a punt returner and struggled to transition in the NFL. Taking on too much ended up hurting his ability to return kicks as well. Beyond that, the gadget player talk stalled out.
It is fun to talk about Thomas, and perhaps he does bring a better mentality to special teams than Jones. However, so far all of the talk from the Bears matches the talk that you hear from a player who is not going to contribute much during his rookie season. We will see if Thomas can separate from the Jones comparison at some point.
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