The Chicago Bears have many needs, and apparently, one of them was for speed on Friday night.
The Bears drafted LSU receiver Zavion Thomas in the third round of the draft. Thomas can absolutely fly.
Chicago has now taken Oregon safety Dillon Thieneman, Iowa center Logan Jones, Stanford tight end Sam Rousch and Thomas.
Thomas ran a 4.28 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine, but he is more than just his speed. He ran the 11th-fastest 40-yard dash in the history of the NFL Combine.
He started his college career at Mississippi State in 2022. He had 507 receiving yards and one touchdown over the two years he spent with the Bulldogs. Thomas transferred to LSU and finished with 706 receiving yards and six touchdowns combined in two seasons.
He was a versatile player who scored in a variety of ways in college. Thomas scored a rushing, receiving, kick return and punt return touchdown during his time at Mississippi State and LSU.
He really excelled in the return game. He had one career kick and punt return touchdown. He led the SEC in kick return yards in 2024 with 633.
He is a great returner, but also gives the Bears a gadget player at receiver. Could Ben Johnson cook up some jet sweeps packages for Thomas?
The receiver room is now going to be Rome Odunze, Luther Burden, Thomas, Jahdae Walker, and Kalif Raymond.
It'll be interesting to see how the Bears use Thomas in the return game, given that Raymond is already on the roster. Perhaps Thomas and Raymond will either be on kick or punt returns.
Thomas wasn't technically the best player available. He was actually a protected seventh-round pick. How protected picks work is that a team can keep its pick and prevent others from selecting it.
There are many ways that a team can a protected pick, but the Bears got theirs by making the playoffs.
So far General Manager Ryan Poles has drafted a lot of offense.
Thieneman will start at safety alongside Coby Bryant. Jones will be the backup center and a player that the Bears can bring along over the next few years. Rousch is a third option at tight end behind Cole Kmet and Colston Loveland, in case one of them gets injured or needs a breather.
Thomas gives the Bears a Swiss-Army Knife at receiver that can also make plays in the return game if needed.