Raiders Rundown logo

CHI Chicago Bears · WR· #13

Zavion Thomas

Age
22
Height
5'10"
Weight
190 lbs
College
LSU; Mississippi State
Drafted
2026, No. 89 overall (CHI)
Experience
Rookie
Compare with another playerKick returners leaderboard

58

Overall grade

11th of 53 kick returners

Well above typical

above average; 50 is average

Grades updated Rechecked every few hours on game days

The read

Zavion grades above average among kick returners so far, with no number far from the middle.

Lately he is playing better. Yards per return is 30.4 yds over the last 2 games (8 returns), against 25.0 yds before that. The change points one way, but a few plays could still explain it.

Written from his numbers, not from film. 4 games are behind the season figures.

How he stacks up

Every graded stat at a glance, against all the kick returners in the league.

  • Yards per return28.6 yds11th of 53small sample
  • EPA per return+0.4213th of 53small sample

Left is the worst at his job, right is the best, and the line down the middle is average. The bubble is his percentile: 90 means better than nine in ten qualifying kick returners. Faded bars are still small samples.

How he has progressed

Where he has ranked among kick returners after each week, and every game behind it.

WorstMiddleBestrecent12345Week 2: 11th percentileWeek 3: 24th percentileWeek 4: 30th percentileWeek 5: 77th percentile77th

Season rank climbed: 11th to 77th percentile since Wk 2.

The line is his season-to-date rank among players at his position after each week, from 100 (the best) to 0 (the worst). It rises when he passes other players, not when he has one big game. Early weeks are noisier because fewer plays are behind them. The shaded weeks are the recent stretch.

EPA per return game by game
WeekOpponentThat gamereturnsSeason rank after
2vs MIN−0.03311th pct
3vs PHI+0.58124th pct
4vs NYJ+0.18230th pct
5vs GB+0.70677th pct

One game is a small sample: a single stat over 3 returns can swing on a handful of plays. Shaded rows are the recent stretch.

The numbers, in context

Each one against every kick returner with at least 5 returns. Right on the strip is better.

EPA per return

Well above typical

+0.42

13th of 53 kick returners · top 25%

Expected points added: how many points the play added to (or took from) the offense's scoring chances, given the down, the distance and the field position. From his team's side, for each kickoff he returns.

The box score: Return average ignores the starting field position the team would have had anyway.

Does it show up in winning? Across 82 games league-wide, teams won 54% of the time when their kick returner was in the best third on EPA per return, and 30% when he was in the worst third.

Last 2 games: +0.57 (8) vs +0.12 before+12.7grade points upLeaning that way

Small sample: could move a lot · 12 returns · true level likely +0.04 to +0.80

Yards per return

Well above typical

28.6 yds

11th of 53 kick returners · top 21%

Average yards per kickoff return.

The box score: This is the box score number.

Does it show up in winning? Across 82 games league-wide, teams won 63% of the time when their kick returner was in the best third on yards per return, and 30% when he was in the worst third.

Last 2 games: 30.4 yds (8) vs 25.0 yds before+16.6grade points upLeaning that way

Small sample: could move a lot · 12 returns · true level likely 24.3 yds to 32.9 yds

Game by game

Every game this season: how it ended for his team, how much he played, his box score, and the advanced numbers from that one game. One game is a small sample, so read the right-hand columns as a snapshot, not his level.

Zavion Thomas game by game
GameResultRetYdsEPA/returnYds/return
Wk 2 vs MINL 3–9368−0.0322.7 yds
Wk 3 vs PHIW 27–7132+0.5832.0 yds
Wk 4 vs NYJW 23–12251+0.1825.5 yds
Wk 5 vs GBL 7–316192+0.7032.0 yds

The box score

The traditional totals, with where each ranks among kick returners. A total rewards volume, which is why the advanced numbers above matter.

Zavion Thomas box score totals
StatTotalRank
Returns129th of 53
Return yards3437th of 53

Players with a similar profile

The kick returners whose grades are closest to his across the same stats. Similar means similar numbers, not the same style of play.

Ranks are among players at the same job who have enough plays to be graded. Grades and rankings come from play-by-play, charting and snap-count data, so they cannot see blocking, route running or assignments. See how the grades work.

← All players

Data: nflverse play-by-play, CC BY 4.0. Also FTN charting, Pro Football Reference advanced stats, snap counts and injury reports, all through nflverse. Calculations and charts by Raiders Rundown.

More from the Lab

All 9 tools →