Gadget player at 89. What is going on?

I just posted it, Adam just delete mine.

2 minutes ago, adam said:

Gadget player at 89. What is going on?

Thomas ran the third-fastest 40-yard dash at the combine, regardless of position, at 4.28 seconds.

He has 4.28 speed.

The Bears are strategically building there team. They know what they are doing, Im just a a fan with limited knowledge that thinks I am smarter than I am.

When do the Bears lock Ben Johnson in the closet haha. We have maybe our next Hester who at least played WR. Ben will move him around to scheme plays to him. We have some blazing speed that should make it exciting.

Look at the picks from their point of view.

They got a stud S that fits their scheme.

They drafted a 8 yr starting center with pro bowl potential.

They drafted a killer blocking TE that the Bears will fit in their scheme.

They drafted a speed merchant WR that have return experience. BJ will scheme plays for him.

I mocked him in the 4th several times. We needed a blow the lid off guy and went and got him.

Just read Zavion is a distance relative of Walter Payton. COOL

And our TE is the grandson of Merlín Olsen’s brother who also played in the NFL Big football family.

1 hour ago, Mongo3451 said:

I mocked him in the 4th several times. We needed a blow the lid off guy and went and got him.

One look at the highlight film on the team website, and one thing is for sure: he will be our Gadget guy.

Yes, he will stretch the field. But I also watched him line up in the backfield and take the handoff as a RB. I saw him receive 2 passes and throw them downfield to another wide receiver. Double reverse, sure, why not? Ben's guy

I will say that Thomas is more well built than most slot speed guys. Guys like Zachariah Branch, Brendan Thompson, Eric Rivers, and Deion Burks tend to be closer to 5’8” 170, whereas Thomas is a little over 5’10” 190. That might help him hold up better in the NFL and be better equipped for any blocking duties he might have.

4 minutes ago, dawhizz said:

I will say that Thomas is more well built than most slot speed guys. Guys like Zachariah Branch, Brendan Thompson, Eric Rivers, and Deion Burks tend to be closer to 5’8” 170, whereas Thomas is a little over 5’10” 190. That might help him hold up better in the NFL and be better equipped for any blocking duties he might have.

Read where he doesnt like to block, but BJs no blocked no rock will have to get embedded in his head.

I see him being huge on STs for field position. He might give us another Hester-esque return ability. But unlike Hester, he will also be that WR/RB gadget guy that can take the top off.

Just read the comparisons of Zavion Thomas to Jamir Gibbs. Thomas did play RB before, so maybe he becomes our Gibbs. Put Thomas in the backfield with 12 or 13 personal and he can take a hand off, run a route and be a nightmare for opponents.

This is a secret weapon that after the first time the DC ignores him, he will score a TD and from that day on they will have to know where he is. On other teams may not be used much, but BJ will make him a weapon.

1 hour ago, ASHKUM BEAR said:

Just read the comparisons of Zavion Thomas to Jamir Gibbs. Thomas did play RB before, so maybe he becomes our Gibbs. Put Thomas in the backfield with 12 or 13 personal and he can take a hand off, run a route and be a nightmare for opponents.

He is not DJ Moore as a receiver but he definitely replaces some of what DJ did for us around the LOS, WR screens, jet sweeps, and by lining up as a RB on occasion. He doesn't bring as much power but more explosiveness and agility. He's an upgrade over OZ and his ceiling is likely WR3. If he stays WR4 and proves to be a good returner then I'm ok with this pick.

5 hours ago, Mongo3451 said:

I mocked him in the 4th several times. We needed a blow the lid off guy and went and got him.

Ben was publicly saying he wanted to add elite speed to the offense. He wants more home runs this year. DJ was fast but he wasn't fast enough to beat DBs with leverage on him. This guy is. For a guy who is not a "hands catcher" he reportedly has a drop rate of just 5%.

If Jahdae Walker takes a step up into WR4 territory then Ben has an embarrassment of riches at his disposal. He can beat teams by spreading them out or going 13 personnel.

2 hours ago, AZ54 said:

Ben was publicly saying he wanted to add elite speed to the offense. He wants more home runs this year. DJ was fast but he wasn't fast enough to beat DBs with leverage on him. This guy is. For a guy who is not a "hands catcher" he reportedly has a drop rate of just 5%.

If Jahdae Walker takes a step up into WR4 territory then Ben has an embarrassment of riches at his disposal. He can beat teams by spreading them out or going 13 personnel.

Even without him I think our WR room will be good, with BJ, he will be a weapon that defenses have to account for that upgrades the rest of the offense. His speed demands attention. I look forward to see how the second year of this offense gets better. Raymond and Thomas add 4.34 and 4.28 speed. BJ is going to have fun.

9 hours ago, AZ54 said:

He is not DJ Moore as a receiver but he definitely replaces some of what DJ did for us around the LOS, WR screens, jet sweeps, and by lining up as a RB on occasion. He doesn't bring as much power but more explosiveness and agility. He's an upgrade over OZ and his ceiling is likely WR3. If he stays WR4 and proves to be a good returner then I'm ok with this pick.

It will be interesting to see how Ben plans to use him. Exciting parts of the summer and fall.

Plus they have Squirrel White from UDFA, same size but 4.6 forty.

The way they talked about him, he would be almost exclusively a STer with some gadget plays mixed in. They also signed Raymond, so this again feels like a luxury.

I hope he proves me wrong, but I would've rather had competition at Edge and DT earlier in the draft with more accomplished guys than what feels like filling niche roles on the roster.

18 hours ago, ASHKUM BEAR said:

It will be interesting to see how Ben plans to use him. Exciting parts of the summer and fall.

Plus they have Squirrel White from UDFA, same size but 4.6 forty.

Don't look at a forty time when White was coming off an injury and still rehabbing. Reportedly he hit 24mph in one game. However, I just watched some highlights of him and he is more of a long speed guy and doesn't have the same quick burst Zavion has, nor the quick agility in his cuts and he does it at 190lbs. Among 170lb WRs, Tank Dell a couple years back had elite quickness in his cuts that made him so hard to cover. We drafted the better player and I doubt Squirrel ever amounts to much more than a practice squad guy.

I have to say, in his LSU highlights he seemed like a bit of a body catcher, which concerned me, but going back to his Mississippi State days, he looks like more of a hands catcher and a bit of a better receiver. Not sure what’s up with that but he seems to have the skills you want.

Also, in looking at his stats, I see he was a very successful kick returner in 2023 and 2024, but in 2025 he didn’t really return kicks and mostly just handled some punt returns. Seems strange for a guy you draft for his return ability. Anyone know what’s up with that? [EDIT - In looking further, Thomas was the primary punt returner, but Barion Brown, who the Saints drafted in the sixth round, was the main kick returner. I think he actually caught more balls than Thomas, but was a bit slower and lighter.]

LSU

Zavion Thomas

27 minutes ago, dawhizz said:

I have to say, in his LSU highlights he seemed like a bit of a body catcher, which concerned me, but going back to his Mississippi State days, he looks like more of a hands catcher and a bit of a better receiver. Not sure what’s up with that but he seems to have the skills you want.

Also, in looking at his stats, I see he was a very successful kick returner in 2023 and 2024, but in 2025 he didn’t really return kicks and mostly just handled some punt returns. Seems strange for a guy you draft for his return ability. Anyone know what’s up with that? [EDIT - In looking further, Thomas was the primary punt returner, but Barion Brown, who the Saints drafted in the sixth round, was the main kick returner. I think he actually caught more balls than Thomas, but was a bit slower and lighter.]

LSU

Zavion Thomas

4.5% drop rate, shows he has pretty good hands. He has a small route tree, so hoping he is a fast learner and the Bears can broaden those limitations

Watching that Miss St clip, makes me feel he was the teams focal point or Wr1 and by the looks at LSU, he was maybe wr3/gadget.

21 minutes ago, ASHKUM BEAR said:

4.5% drop rate, shows he has pretty good hands. He has a small route tree, so hoping he is a fast learner and the Bears can broaden those limitations

Watching that Miss St clip, makes me feel he was the teams focal point or Wr1 and by the looks at LSU, he was maybe wr3/gadget.

I don’t watch LSU, but it seems like their WR room was weird. A TE caught the most TDs and the leading wide receiver only had 53 receptions, then Zavion had 41 but a higher per catch average, and then two other WRs with 33 and 31 catches.

8 minutes ago, dawhizz said:

I don’t watch LSU, but it seems like their WR room was weird. A TE caught the most TDs and the leading wide receiver only had 53 receptions, then Zavion had 41 but a higher per catch average, and then two other WRs with 33 and 31 catches.

They definately spread the ball around to about 6 targets. Passed 55%, ran 45%, almost split.

Might be similiar to the Bears stats, they were similar split between 6 or 7 players.