Zavion Thomas Hype Begins After Bears Rookie Gets 'Star of the Day' Label at OTAs

Chicago Bears third-round pick and wide receiver Zavion Thomas is already garnering some hype at OTAs.

The Bears took part in their second day of OTAs on Thursday, which was also the first session open to the media.

And Thomas apparently shined, as CHGO Bears' Mark Carman named the rookie the "star of the day" after practice.

Carman said Thomas reeled-in a 50-yard deep ball from Caleb Williams during the 7-on-7 drill that put Thomas' speed on full display.

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

Zack Pearson of Bear Report gave more details, saying Thomas beat Tyrique Stevenson on the play.

The connection with Thomas was just one of multiple deep balls Williams connected on. Carman notes that Williams also landed one to running back D'Andre Swift, and Pearson said Williams connected with Rome Odunze for another.

We were hoping there would be some video of Williams hitting Thomas for the big play, but so far nothing is out there. We'll update this page if it gets posted on social media.

Nevertheless, this is a great start for Thomas, who could earn a significant role in a Bears unit that has no shortage of question marks at wide receiver.

Zavion Thomas' 2026 outlook

LSU wideout Zavion Thomas (WO38) during the NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. — LSU wideout Zavion Thomas. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The highest Thomas will be on the depth chart is WR3, the spot that veteran Kalif Raymond is favored to get. No matter where he lands, we'd expect head coach Ben Johnson to scheme up some touches for the LSU product.

We could also see Thomas and his 4.28 speed contribute as a returner. Thomas returned 60 punts and 35 kickoffs during his collegiate career.

One thing that could limit Thomas' opportunities on offense is how quickly he's able to pick up Johnson's playbook, which won't be easy, something even general manager Ryan Poles admitted.

"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 said of the rookie receiver. "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."

One way or the other, the Bears are going to find a way to get the rookie involved because, as we saw on Thursday, Thomas' skill set makes him a home-run threat from anywhere on the field.

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