ZavionThomas

Zack Pearson·Sep 20

the Bears know they are going to need to try and get Thomas more opportunities.

"When you take a look at that game, they were definitely kicking the ball away from him," special teams coordinator Richard Hightower said on Thursday. "We want the ball in his hands. We're going to do everything we can to get the ball in his hands." That's the challenge for the Bears — getting the ball in Thomas' hands. Thomas didn't take a snap on offense in the Week 1 win over Carolina and was only on the field for those six snaps. With limited opportunities to touch the ball, Hightower is hoping that Thomas himself can go out there and create those chances. "And he's got to go get some of those, which we're going to make sure that he is working to do that," Hightower said. "But they definitely tried to pin it in the corner and try to keep it away from him. I haven't seen that this early on, but it is what it is. Nothing he did wrong. I'm just saying that this week he'll have to go get some of those, if he's able to go get them." As a rookie, Thomas will have to balance the fine line of being aggressive in trying for those opportunities and making sure he doesn't make a mistake in the process. He has home run speed but a crucial mistake could change the game, as we saw from Carolina's side in Week 1 with a muffed punt. Week 2 is the next chance for Thomas to make an impact and they will face a Vikings' special teams unit that is vulnerable. They allowed 29. 3 yards per attempt in the Week 1 win over the Green Bay Packers, and also had one touchback. But ideally, the Bears are hoping there aren't seven kickoffs from Minnesota as it would mean they are scoring in bunches. Let's see if Thomas can put his stamp on this game in some capacity.

Sep 14

Burden excelled as a rookie despite never earning a full-time role, leading all Bears wide receivers with a 77.7 PFF receiving grade while finishing third among NFL wideouts in yards per route run (2.69) behind only Puka Nacua and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. His snap share, below 30% in the first half of the season, regularly exceeded 50% by year's end. He peaked at 71.4% in Week 14. Chicago cleared his path to a starting job by trading DJ Moore and letting Olamide Zaccheaus walk, replacing them with only Kalif Raymond and third-round rookie Zavion Thomas. Burden played 95.1% of snaps in 11 personnel. He only played 45% of those snaps last season, but at times, his rate was at 100%. He only played in 15 of 23 snaps in two-receiver sets, and only one of 11 in 13 personnel. While the Bears won by 22 points, which could usually suggest a low snap rate in the fourth quarter, his snap rate in that period was the same as the first three. This led Burden to only run a route on 71.1% of the Bears‘ pass plays, and he was only targeted on 18.5% of those routes. While it wouldn’t be surprising if his targets per route increase, his playing time might not get as high as some fantasy managers would like any time soon. Raymond notably caught eight passes for 84 yards, leading the Bears in receiving. He consistently played in 11 personnel, but rarely in 12 and never in 13. It’s hard to imagine him keeping that rate up once Odunze is healthier and Thomas starts to become involved,