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Chicago Bears Rookie Stock Watch: Who's Soaring and Who's Tanking

Zavion Thomas gets plenty of attention with the receptions and runs he's making in Bears practices but he's not the only rookie making big or little waves.
Gene Chamberlain|
Bears rookie wide receiver Zavion Thomas bolts upfield during passing drills at camp.
Bears rookie wide receiver Zavion Thomas bolts upfield during passing drills at camp. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

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Chicago Bears

Thursday's end to the second block of Bears training camp practices signifies a good point to take stock of how their rookies are faring.

People will look at how they've performed and tend to see a group less dynamic than last year's class, but remember where the Bears rookies were last year after a similar number of practices.

They barely had seen what Colston Loveland or Luther Burden III could do, and really didn't until roughly Week 6 of the regular season. They'd been set back by offseason injury rehab or injuries. Ozzy Trapilo had been working at tackle but it was Theo Benedet who made the late charge at left tackle starter before losing out to Braxton Jones. Ultimately Jones didn't get it done.

And Shemar Turner had started as a defensive tackle, had one practice and suffered an ankle injury that took up most of the the preseason. When he finally got to play effectively, it was at end and for less than 60 plays in the regular season before his torn ACL.

Last year's rookies started slow

As for Ruben Hyppolite, he actually did look better in training camp than he ever looked in the regular season. Running back Kyle Monangai hadn't even surfaced in training camp yet because he needed the venue of 100% live hitting in a preseason game to show off his powerful bursts as a runner that lead to broken tackles or broken helmets.

It can change rapidly for the rookies and preseason games often trigger it. They'll see their first preseason action a week from Saturday at Soldier Field with a noon game against the Browns. For now, here is an eye-witness account of where the stock stands for their 2026 draft class.

THE DIRTY LITTLE SECRET ABOUT BEARS' SO-CALLED EXPLOSIVE RUNNING GAME

Dillon Thieneman | S | Round 1 | Stock: Dropping



This comes with an asterisk, and that is through no fault of his own. Thieneman is being forced to play more in the strong safety position when the Bears view him as their free safety. The injury to safety Coby Bryant means they're using 183-pound Cam Lewis at safety and he's not going into the box at that size. So it's Thieneman doing it and he's out of his element there. The real problem is the sheer volume of things he's getting hit with because of the injuries.

A good example of Thieneman getting beat came on the last play of Thursday's two-minute warning, when Luther Burden made his cut and left Thieneman standing still. Burden came to the middle then and caught a 14-yard TD pass at the back of the end zone to finish the drive.

"He is thinking a lot and the way he's wired is he wants to be on every little thing," Bears coach Ben Johnson said Thursday about the rookie. "When you are like that, you can potentially, in your quest to be right every time, slow down. It's just a matter of getting enough reps to where he can let loose and get after it."

It could help when he's just focusing on his own deep safety position rather than moving all over the field.

Logan Jones | C | Round 2 | Stock: Flat

Jones is right where he's been every day of camp -- snapping the ball to Tyson Bagent and for the second-team offense. He had mixed results in his work during one-on-one blocking drills. Starter Garrett Bradbury didn't have a great start in the one-on-one blocking drills but handled a few matchups well on Thursday and has been solid throughout camp. So, expecting the rookie to take away his job by the start of the regular season is probably premature and unrealistic.

Zavion Thomas | WR | Round 3 | Stock: Rising

Every practice Thomas makes a play or two. Sometimes it's been with the backup offense on a Tyson Bagent throw, sometimes when Caleb Williams is throwing. He also handles fielding punts effortlessly. Thomas has an advantage other rookies except Thieneman lack, and that's how Johnson has a direct plan for using his speed in special packages with the first team. Even if he can't break in as one of the starters, he'll contribute, and it helps getting these reps. He might not figure the whole offense out yet, but he'll know his plays. If you charted Thomas' path like a stock, it would be maddening. It's up, down, up, up, down, down, up but generally an upward, positive trend.

"He's got great hands, which has been fun to watch him grow," offensive coordinator Press Taylor said. "He's like a lot of these young guys. He can't get enough reps. He can't get enough time on task in the system. And we'll keep feeding him every single day. We'll keep adjusting.

"He's done a great job bouncing back every single day because he's like any rookie, every day is not perfect. We're growing every single day. And we're excited to see the steps with him every day and where he is by the time camp ends.”

Sam Roush | TE | Round 3 | Stock: Flat

Roush has caught the very few short passes thrown his way on occasion playing with backups and now he's starting to show up in the blocking game as the pads have come on for three practices. Still, he hasn't made enough of an impact to warrant a positive overall rating. The Bears started using 13-personnel packages in the last two padded practices but it was fairly limited. In the future he could show up more.

Malik Muhammad | CB | Round 4 | Stock: Dropping

Just like with Thieneman, the injuries are influencing what happens here. He's being asked to play slot with the third team and second team and also play outside at times. Muhammad hasn't been a slot in the past for any significant time and isn't built like a slot. When he can focus on outside cornerback they will see more progress.

Keyshaun Elliott | LB | Round 5 | Stock: Static

Still on the physically unable to play list due to a back injury and there Bears have offered no timeline. With T.J. Edwards back practicing now, it also pushes Elliott down even more on the depth chart.

Jordan van den Berg | DT | Round 6 | Stock: Rising

That should read, way up. Van den berg stunned everyone with his body slam of Caden Barnett early in the week. He has exploded off the ball in pass rush drills and is sometimes able to overpower blockers not ready for his intensity. Almost all of his reps are against subs, but he did get a few this week against the better players. It is too soon to be excited. Still, his number is right in the middle of the mix every time, pushing downfield, or causing havoc.

"Yeah, he's a dog," edge rusher Austin Booker said. "I love playing with him. I have super high standards for him because of how hard he works and I think we all see it on the field that he's a really good player."

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.

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