The Bears took Zavion Thomas in the third round of this year's draft, 89th overall, out of LSU, and the pitch was always speed. He ran a 4.28-second 40 at the combine, one of the fastest times at the position, and Chicago liked that he could line up outside or in the slot and still win with pure burst. Preseason Week 3 against the Titans in Nashville was the proof of concept.
Quarterback Tyson Bagent found Thomas down the field, the corner got turned around trying to stay with him, and Thomas was gone. What started as a big gain turned into a 97-yard house call, the kind of play that makes a Sunday afternoon crowd forget it's still preseason.
Zavion Thomas 97 yard touchdown and took a cornerbacks ankles
It wasn't a one-off, either. Thomas piled up 3 catches for 116 yards in the first half alone, adding a 39-yard punt return and a 22-yard kickoff return on top of it. That's a receiver, punt returner and kick returner all rolled into one roster spot, which is exactly the kind of Swiss Army knife a coaching staff loves to find on a Day 3 pick.
There's also a nice bit of Bears trivia sitting underneath all of it: Thomas has a family connection to Walter Payton, the franchise's all-time icon. Nobody's putting that kind of pressure on a rookie receiver, but it's the sort of detail that makes a highlight like this travel a little further around Chicago.
The reaction online has already jumped past just the ankle-breaker of a route. With Ben Johnson running the offense, the question becomes how much juice a player like Thomas adds behind the starters.
Zavion Thomas as a 4th-5th weapon in Ben Johnson's offense should scare the shit out of other teams
That's the real stakes here. Preseason touchdowns don't count for anything in the standings, but they absolutely count in a roster fight, and Thomas just gave Chicago's decision-makers a very loud reason to keep his name on the 53-man list. If he can do this in August, Bears fans are right to wonder what a real package for him looks like once the games matter.
