Chicago Bears: Questions continue to surface on rookie receiver

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Chicago Bears: Questions continue to surface on rookie receiver

Originally posted on ChiCitySports | By Jordan Sigler | Last updated May 4, 2026 6:34 PM ET

With the loss of DJ Moore, the Chicago Bears made a prudent choice to take a wide receiver in the 2026 NFL Draft.

The Bears took Zavion Thomas from LSU with the No. 89 pick. He has potential to be a returner, giving the team some extra flexibility at the position.

The Athletic gave Thomas a pre-draft grade of being a seventh-round pick. Other draft boards seemed to tell the same story, suggesting Bears general manager cooked the board by taking Thomas in the third round of the draft.

Since the draft, Field Yates of ESPN revealed that someone not connected to the Bears told him that Thomas would be taken in the third round, meaning some league teams had Thomas graded higher on their draft board than others.

Simply put, Thomas was not a consensus Day 3 pick.

Did the Chicago Bears cook the board for Zavion Thomas?

Louisiana State Tigers wide receiver Zavion Thomas (0) celebrates with his teammates after scoring a touchdown against the Vanderbilt Commodores during the second half at FirstBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

During an appearance on 104.3 The Score on Monday, Brian Baldinger of the NFL Network provided some insight into the question of whether the Bears reached for Thomas. He likes Thomas’ ability to use his speed (4.28 40-yard dash time at the NFL combine) to take the top off defenses and suggested he was the best player in the East-West Shrine Bowl.

“I didn’t have a problem,” Baldinger said of the pick for Thomas. “He was probably the best player at the East-West Shrine bowl that I saw this year. You know, that doesn’t mean that doesn’t really mean anything. Garrett Nussmeier was a good player Senior Bowl. He got drafted in seventh round…

“Look, LSU has trained their wide receivers pretty well. We’ll see what he does and how he contributes. But you know, with that kind of speed, normally, a guy like that… that’s a day three prospect, you’re just drafting on measurables at that point, and that kind of speed isn’t found very often.”

If Thomas becomes a key contributor for the Bears no one will complain about the pick. However, if he can’t hold on to the ball as a returner or drops a ton of catches in the preseason, the comparisons to Super Bowl champion Velus Jones Jr. will commence.

Given what the Bears were trying to accomplish with the pick it doesn’t seem like the worst gamble.

This article first appeared on ChiCitySports and was syndicated with permission.

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