Bears rookie Zavion Thomas starred in preseason finale. What will his role be in the regular season?

Sean Hammond, Chicago Tribune on Sep 5, 2026

Published in Football

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CHICAGO — Ten yards into his route, Zavion Thomas made one quick hitch toward the inside. It was enough to throw the opposing cornerback off-balance for a second.

It was all Thomas needed.

The Chicago Bears rookie receiver blew past Tennessee Titans cornerback Keydrain Calligan. Quarterback Tyson Bagent connected with Thomas in stride, and the receiver outraced everyone for a 97-yard touchdown in last week’s preseason finale.

Bears fans have heard about Thomas’ speed ever since the Bears selected him with a third-round draft pick in April. But they had to wait a little longer to see it because Thomas sat out the first two preseason games.

Once preseason game No. 3 began, they didn’t have to wait long. Thomas’ 97-yard touchdown came on the Bears’ first offensive play of the game.

“(It was) nothing that anybody wasn’t expecting,” veteran receiver Kalif Raymond said. “I mean, we all kind of knew the first play that was going in. But that guy, his talent is exceptional.”

Thomas finished the game with five catches for 140 yards and the touchdown. But his first NFL touch is one he’ll remember forever.

The Bears move this week from preseason mode into regular-season mode. They open against the Carolina Panthers on Sept. 13 in Charlotte, N.C.

Thomas was one of five receivers who made the 53-man roster coming out of training camp. The rookie will need to make a name for himself among the likes of Rome Odunze, Luther Burden III, Raymond and second-year receiver Jahdae Walker. It’s hard to know what to expect from Thomas in coach Ben Johnson’s offense.

It didn’t help that Thomas missed more than a week with a knee injury in the middle of camp. But the Bears wouldn’t have selected him so high in the draft if they didn’t foresee him making an impact.

A speedy return man, Thomas figures to be involved in special teams when he’s active on game days. The bigger question mark is how Johnson will use him within the offense.

“Obviously it doesn’t help when you’re a young player and you’re needing to learn a lot and you gain a lot of experience, and then you miss a lot of time with an injury,” offensive coordinator Press Taylor said. “So he’s still kind of in that process of catching up to everybody else that’s been here and going and competing. But I mean, the talent since the day he got here has flashed.”

The speed is obvious. Thomas hit 21.99 mph on the 97-yard touchdown, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. In the second quarter, he had a 39-yard punt return in which he blew by several would-be tacklers before following his blockers ahead of him.

Each day after practice at Halas Hall, the Bears can see the metrics documenting players’ top speeds. Taylor said Thomas is always at or near the top of the list.

Raymond, a 10-year NFL veteran, has been something of a mentor for Thomas. Although one could argue Raymond didn’t have a choice, Thomas latched onto the veteran and has been following his every move.

But Raymond’s all for it. He sees all the work the rookie has put in. Raymond said Thomas shows up early every day, puts in extra time studying at night and often shadows Raymond in team walk-throughs.

“Being who he is, no matter how bad he wants it, it’s going to show up way faster than expected,” Raymond said.

Raymond catches 205 passes off the JUGS machine every day after practice. His former Lions teammate Amon-Ra St. Brown catches 202 every day, so Raymond wants to do just a little more.

These days, Thomas is usually right there beside Raymond.

“I’ll say having guys in the receiving room, the guys that we have, they make a lot of things easy for me,” Thomas said. “Having people that I can look up to like Kalif, just follow in his footsteps. He kind of coached me through the whole thing.”

Johnson is going to find ways to involve Thomas. Speed like his is too tantalizing for a coach such as Johnson not to find a way to get him the football.

But Taylor was quite blunt that the rookie is going to have to prove himself too.

“I don’t know how many people have taken one 97 on their first touch in the NFL,” Taylor said. “That’s something he is gifted with. But there’s so much more that goes into earning a role for yourself week to week. And so that’s something he’s going to continue to prove and earn as we go into the season.”