Ben Johnson Thinks Bears Rookie Could be Big Weapon
Ben Johnson is trying to find a role for a Bears rookie, leveraging his elite speed and highlight-reel playmaking to electrify Chicago's revamped offense.
Video Transcript
Grant Bricker here for Bears on Roundtable.
The Chicago Bears have definitely done some shuffling in terms of their receiving corps this off-season.
They still have Rome Odunze and Luther Burden around, as well as some young prospective players like Maurice Alexander and JP Richardson, but they said goodbye to some veterans.
DJ Moore was traded to the Buffalo Bills for a second-round pick, and then Olomide Zaccheaus and Devin DuVernay are no longer around as they left the team in free agency.
The Bears replenished their receiving corps with, players like Kalif Raymond and Scotty Miller.
Raymond joined the Bears after many years with the Detroit Lions, as he is already familiar with Ben Johnson's offense.
And then, they also had Scotty Miller try out, who was a Super Bowl champion with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the twenty-twenty season.
The Bears also have added some undrafted free agents in Kyron Hudson and Omari Kelly.
Then in the twenty-twenty-six NFL Draft, they added one receiver in LSU wideout Xavien Thomas.
He has lightning-quick speed and was used as an excellent return specialist at both LSU and Mississippi State in college.
But it's unsure what his role will be with the Bears, as he could definitely, be a player like Deebo Samuel was with the San Francisco forty-niners, who could kind of be a gadget player and be used in a variety of ways, or he could be used as a return specialist.
However, Raymond is already more experienced in that, so it's unsure whether the Bears will use him there or not.
Either way, Ben Johnson is very excited to work with Thomas and shared at a recent interview, that he is, that he has the potential to be a big weapon for the Bears offense.
Johnson noted how, impressive he has been at OTAs and practice so far, saying that he is, he has had a lot of catches where it makes you think that if he could just be put in a position where he runs the correct routes for the Bears in the right situation, he could be a big threat on offense.
If Thomas pans out, he could be a, a great draft pick by general manager Ryan Poles, as the Bears could absolutely use him in a variety of ways, whether that's lining up in the slot or bringing his speed to the outside or even just using him as a gadget player or a return specialist.
Luckily, Ben Johnson is one of the best offensive minds in the NFL, so I'm sure that he will find the best situation for Thomas to be in with this Bears offense in twenty-twenty-six.
