How Devin Hester Helped Influence The Bears’ Zavion Thomas Pick

The Chicago Bears caught their fans and much of the media by surprise during the 3rd round of the 2026 draft. It started when they took Sam Roush 69th overall, a primarily blocking tight end. Then, before anybody could wrap their heads around it, they struck again, 20 picks later, selecting LSU wide receiver Zavion Thomas. Though he boasted 4.28 speed, he’d never cracked the 600-yard mark in any of his college seasons. Many had him graded as a likely 7th round pick, meaning the Bears had just done a major reach. However, it wasn’t that simple. Their evaluation of Thomas came from a different angle, and franchise legend Devin Hester played a part in it.

Back in 2006, then-GM Jerry Angelo faced a dilemma. The Bears loved Hester as a talent coming out of Miami. There was one problem. He had no defined position. He’d dabbled on offense and defense, but never settled in either. His biggest calling card was elite return ability. The scouting room was divided. Some wanted Ohio State defensive back Ashton Youboty. Others wanted to take a chance on Hester. Angelo felt the talent and character were worth the risk because, at worst, the team was getting a great returner. So they drafted him in the 2nd round.

The Bears just used the Devin Hester logic on Thomas.

According to Adam Hoge of CHGO, team brass didn’t see him as a fast but underdeveloped receiver. They saw a great return man with upside as a receiver. With the NFL bringing back kickoffs, having an explosive returner is more important than ever. That is why they decided to take the risk.

From the sounds of it, NFL teams viewed Thomas differently. The Bears graded him as the best returner in the draft and felt strongly that other teams felt the same way – enough that they didn’t think he’d last much longer. In any year, the best returner in the draft is never going to last long, but especially now that kick returns matter again.

It’s important to remember that Bears special teams coordinator Richard Hightower was one of the driving forces behind the new kickoff rule, which led to returns jumping from 32.8 percent in 2024 to 74.5 percent in 2025.

The Bears had 68 returns last season and project that number to stay near 70 for the foreseeable future. That’s 70 opportunities to start a drive with an explosive play, and potentially, a touchdown.

Thomas is very much a third-phase threat.

This isn’t a guy who had one big season and was dubbed a return specialist. He had a punt return touchdown as a freshman, a kick return touchdown as a sophomore, and another kick return touchdown as a junior. While he was not as prolific as Devin Hester, his ability was plain to see. The biggest shock by far was the decision by LSU to take him off kick return duties last season. Regardless, putting him in the hands of Richard Hightower is a potential boon for the Bears. Don’t forget that the special teams coordinator got a career year out of Devin Duvernay last season, who isn’t nearly as explosive as Thomas is.

The best part is that he is a far more natural receiver than Hester was. People forget the Hall of Famer was primarily a defensive back in college. He transitioned to receiver in the NFL, where he had some good seasons. Thomas has far more experience playing the position and has the added benefit of coming under the tutelage of head coach Ben Johnson and wide receivers coach Antwaan Randle El. Hester never had a setup like that in his entire career, which should add to the excitement of what’s coming.

Truth be told, the Bears shouldn’t be getting this much heat for taking a return man in the 3rd round. After all, it’s not like they’ve been able to find good players in that area of the draft. The only name who became a core contributor on the team to come out of that round in the past decade was David Montgomery. Might as well try a different approach.