The Chicago Bears entered the offseason with some glaring needs, most of them on the defensive side of the field. However, unlike most speculated, they didn't lean that heavily on defense in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Despite having a stacked wide receiver corps, Bears general manager Ryan Poles shocked the world by using a third-round pick on LSU's Zavion Thomas. And while it seemed that he would be mostly a special teams guy at first, that may not be the case anymore.
Thomas turned plenty of heads during spring workouts, and Ben Johnson might have some big plans for him as a rookie. According to ESPN insider Courtney Cronin, he might be his new version of Jahmyr Gibbs:
“Did Johnson draft his next Jahmyr Gibbs? Thomas, the versatile rookie who has been labeled “electric” by his wide receiver teammates, made a handful of plays during minicamp and could emerge as a valuable gadget player on offense while contributing his 4.28-second 40-yard dash speed as a returner,” Cronin wrote.
The Bears landed another intriguing star in Zavion Thomas
Of course, comparing Thomas to a former first-round pick like Gibbs might be a bit of a reach. Also, even if Gibbs shared the backfield with David Montgomery, he got plenty of touches right out of the gate. That won't necessarily be the case with Thomas.
That said, Johnson boasts one of the sharpest offensive minds in the game. He took things slowly with rookies Colston Loveland and Luther Burden III at first, but they both went off toward the end of the season, so he might take a similar approach with the rookie out of LSU.
Thomas was a YAC machine, boasting 106 catches for 1,213 yards and even scores in four seasons at Mississippi State and LSU. Those numbers don't necessarily pop up, but his twitchiness, acceleration, and lateral quickness are more than evident on tape, and Coach Johnson sure knows what to do with that.
The Bears are in a privileged position right now. They have more mouths than they can feed on offense, which is why they could afford to essentially dump a top-20 wide receiver like D.J. Moore this offseason.
Of course, one would be right to argue that this team was probably better off using that pick to improve the defensive line and their shaky pass-rush, but that's neither here nor there. They have an offensive-minded coach and a generational talent at quarterback, and they want to make the most of it.
Living up to Jahmyr Gibbs comps will be a tall order for the Bears' new electric rookie. Even so, with an already stacked wide receiver corps, anything he can give this team will probably feel like overkill.
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