The Bears draft selections turned heads this year, and it's not exactly for the reasons a fanbase would hope for. Many pundits and couch experts alike expected the Bears to draft heavily on the defensive side of the ball, but were shocked to see the three of their top five selections to be on the offense. Nobody was surprised with the selection of Logan Jones as the team's long-term solution at center, but nobody expected the one-two punch of TE Sam Roush and WR Zavion Thomas.
Thomas was recently selected by ESPN as the Bears biggest offseason surprise. He wowed everyone at the rookie combine with an impressive 4.28 40 yard dash time, but still entered OTAs and Minicamp with moderate expectations. Many believed him to be a fleeting option, or perhaps a replacement for the departure of Devin Duvernay, but Thomas seems to be carving a new role for himself.
Ben Johnson's praise explains why expectations are rapidly changing
"He tends to make a play almost every single day right now that says, OK, if we can harness all of this energy and make sure that we can trust him and he's going to align where he needs to and run the route the way we need him to, that we really could use him and he could be a big weapon for us this year"Ben Johnson
Jonnson said this earlier this offseason as OTAs were well underway. Up until that point, Thomas had been expected to play a "gadget" role, the guy who was capable of inserting himself into many different types of situations. This would be a welcome addition to a Ben Johnson led offense, as his paly designs often include tricks and deception.
As displayed with his impressive times during his rookie assessments, Thomas is quite fast. Speed is often one of the most highly prized traits of Johnson's players, and it's certainly traits that would be utilized to the highest extent possible. If Thomas could carve a regular presence for himself on the Bears offense, it could make for a highly explosive amount of chemistry with the defense needing to account for a many many headed beast.
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