Minicamps must always be taken with a grain of salt. They take place with shorts without pads, with zero contact. Anything you see can easily be an illusion. That said, there are always hints at what certain players may offer in the near future if you watch carefully. It didn’t take long for people to see Braxton Jones was far better than the 5th round pick used to acquire him in 2022. Just one practice into the 2026 offseason, and it appears the name to watch already is 3rd round pick Zavion Thomas.
Everybody knows the scuttlebutt around the wide receiver from LSU. He never produced much on the offensive side of the ball, serving as an occasional deep threat who did most of his best work on special teams as a return man. Still, head coach Ben Johnson said there was far more to like on tape than people recognized. He saw somebody who fit the vision of what the Bears like on offense. That much became apparent in the first minicamp practice. Onlookers didn’t need long to recognize his significant speed.
Yet that wasn’t what surprised them. It was how good his hands were.
Zavion Thomas faces the same stigma many small receivers do.
One thing you often find with guys who are short and thin is that they don’t have good hands. Their calling card is speed and quickness. Teams are forced to live with the fact that they will probably drop a few passes. The Bears saw this play out with Darnell Mooney a few years ago and Olamide Zaccheaus last season. Thomas is 5’10” and 190 lbs. Everybody assumed he would suffer from the same problem. His hands are even smaller than Mooney’s were. All the indicators were there.
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Unfortunately, the actual numbers didn’t back this up. Thomas had a catch percentage of 71.4% in 2025. That put him among the best in the entire 2026 draft class, right alongside 1st round pick Makai Lemon (73.1%). One must not forget that he did this despite significant instability at quarterback, with Garrett Nussmeier missing a month of action due to injuries. This doesn’t automatically mean Thomas is destined for greatness, but it does mean his capability might’ve been misdiagnosed by pre-draft assumptions.
Thomas already dispelled one myth about him.
That is always the first test. Assumptions about him were largely the same: short, thin, unpolished, a one-trick pony as a wide receiver. He isn’t built to play the position like a professional. He’ll likely become a gadget option who doubles as a team’s returner. If that were true, the Bears wouldn’t have spent a 3rd round pick on Zavion Thomas. That kind of investment suggests they see more in him. We learned last year that it probably isn’t a good idea to doubt Johnson’s eye for talent.
Still, there is a long way to go. Rookies don’t get credibility or respect from one spring practice. The trick will be stringing them together and showing progress every day. How bad does Zavion Thomas want to get better? That is the question coaches will pose to him every day. He insists he lives for the grind. Johnson aims to test that. If the young receiver can pass through to the other side of this crucible, he could emerge as one of the Bears’ most dangerous weapons.
