Bears Drop Video of Zavion Thomas Burning Tyrique Stevenson at OTAs

The Bears released video of Zavion Thomas beating Tyrique Stevenson deep at OTAs, giving fans an early look at the rookie's game-breaking speed.

Louisiana State Tigers wide receiver Zavion Thomas. | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

There was quite a bit of buzz surrounding Chicago Bears rookie wide receiver Zavion Thomas during the team's second OTAs practice on Thursday.

That's because Thomas was dubbed the "star of the day" by Mark Carman of CHGO Bears, who highlighted a deep-ball connection between the rookie and quarterback Caleb Williams.

"Zavion Thomas star of the day. A+. Hauled in a 50-yard plus missle from Caleb down left sideline. Speed," Carman said.

Thomas went deep down the sideline with veteran cornerback Tyrique Stevenson guarding him and won the rep. After breaking free, Thomas reeled in a pristine pass from Williams to complete the play.

On Friday, the Bears finally dropped the video and it was as beautiful as we imagined it would be.

Heard y'all wanted the @ftfzayy_ catch 👀 pic.twitter.com/XrC8eLZHos

— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) May 29, 2026

Ladies and gentlemen, that's what 4.28 speed gets you. Hopefully that will be a sign of things to come for the rookie, who has an opportunity to make noise in Year 1.

The door is open for Zavion Thomas

LSU wideout Zavion Thomas. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

We know the impressive skill set is there, but the biggest factor in how big of a role Thomas has on offense might depend on his picking up the playbook.

After drafting Thomas, general manager Ryan Poles went into detail on that, saying the LSU product will have to pick up the playbook in order to see the maximum number of snaps.

"So this is a tough system. It’s going to be a challenge for him to break through quickly (on offense). But we’re going to open that competition up for all of these guys coming in," Poles explained when talking about Thomas. "I think we feel really good about the return ability that he has. And then he’ll be with the rest of the guys to learn the offense, how does he do that, how fast does he come along? We all talk to our receivers and it’s a challenging system.

"So, maybe that role starts small and grows over time. But I don’t want to put a cap on that. If he comes in and downloads fast and he’s up and running, we’ll see what happens."

If Thomas can learn the playbook and earn the trust of head coach Ben Johnson and the offensive coaching staff, there is definitely a path for him to see plenty of work.

That's because the Bears don't have a great depth situation at wide receiver, with guys like Kalif Raymond and Scotty Miller both being multiple years removed from truly productive seasons. Jahdae Walker is another player to keep an eye on, but he remains someone who still has something to prove after playing sparingly last season.

If nothing else, we would bet Johnson is going to scheme up ways to get the ball in Thomas' hands, and we could see the rookie get looks as a returner, something he has plenty of experience with from his days at LSU.