Wide receiver Zavion Thomas was not part of the Chicago Bears’ first two preseason games due to an injury. A third-round pick out of LSU, eyes were going to be on him as the Bears gave him his first start against the Tennessee Titans.
The wide receiver put on a show and gave the Bears fans a lot to be excited about right in his first play as he scored a 97-yard touchdown by annihilating Titans player Keydrain Calligan, who was defending him. In his post-game press conference, Thomas was asked about his stellar evening and the play that went viral on social media.
“I was more so locked in on the end zone,” Rookie Thomas said of the Titans’ defense during the post-game conference. He was then asked if the Titans defender had a chance to catch on to him; Thomas replied by saying, “Nah, he didn’t have a chance.”
Thomas has every right to make that claim, as he recorded a 40-yard dash time of 4.28 secs at the Draft Combine. That raw pace was on full display against the Titans as he recorded five catches on five targets for 140 yards.
The highlight 97-yard touchdown on a pass from quarterback Tyson Bagent on the right sideline, with Thomas breaking the Titans’ cornerback Calligan’s ankles with a stutter step.
But the special part came when he showed his pace, completing the touchdown while being chased by Titans safety Jerrick Reed II into the end zone.
What is special about Thomas is that not only was he brilliant as the WR, the youngster out of LSU took special team snaps. He showed his agility and swiftness, dodging defenders while making a 39-yard kickoff return and another 22-yard punt return.
Thomas made the Titans’ defense look fragile, with Bears head coach Ben Johnson saying the ball and the catch were great and satirically taking the credit, stating, “Great coaching, right?”
But things took a turn when he started practicing in the mandatory minicamp, with Johnson praising him for his pace, saying that it has come with him since his college days.
“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,'” Johnson said on June 10. “‘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.'”
Johnson added that WR coach Antwaan Randle El and offensive quality control coach Isaiah Ford challenged him daily and kept his work ethic up, which definitely showed in the final preseason game.
But despite the excellent game, Thomas would need to be cautious and ready for every game that tests him.
Rookie Zavion Thomas has competition surrounding him
While Thomas finally showed his skill set on the gridiron, there are already plenty of other young talents on the roster, with Thomas likely to fight for the WR3 spot on the team.
Wide receiver Rome Odunze recorded 44 receptions for 661 yards and six touchdowns, while Luther Burden III had 47 receptions for 652 yards, including two touchdowns, making these two the favorites for starters. However, veteran Kalif Raymond is also present in the WR room, which makes things even tougher for Thomas.
Thomas, who will be fighting for a spot under those players, will be competing against former Super Bowl champion and backup WR Scotty Miller, along with young Jahdae Walker, and, seeing his form in training camp and preseason, he stands as the top choice for the WR3 spot.
One player is also helping him train throughout the preseason campaign, which coach Johnson said to “follow” and “do everything he does” to Thomas.
“I’ll say having guys in the receiving room like the guys that we have here, they make a lot of things easy for me,” Thomas said on August 29. “Having people that I could look up to, like Lif, just following in his footsteps; he kind of coached me through the whole thing.”
Time will tell how Johnson will opt to use Thomas in the regular season games, but one thing that he made sure of on Saturday was that the team needs to give him playtime.