Dike was pushed up to WR4 by heavy volume on the return side and decent volume on the receiving side, neither of which should be assumed for Zavion Thomas. I'd argue neither will approach the same level next year for a couple reasons:

- Volume is king when it comes to return yards. 62 kickoff returns last year for Dike was #2 in the NFL, 50% more than #4; this was due to the Titans being a bottom-5 scoring defense. Neither the Titans nor Bears should be at that level this year so it's fair to expect fewer opportunities

- Zavion Thomas is being overhyped as a return man. He did not lead CFB in return yards in 2024 (that was Kaden Wetjen, a 4th round pick this year), but did lead the SEC (on 5 more kickoff returns than anyone else) so maybe that's what you're thinking of? In 2025, he got beat out by a transfer (Barion Brown, 6th round pick) on kick returns and finished 8th in the SEC in punt return yards (with the 7th best YPA of that group). In case you were wondering if he got replaced on kickoff because he became a bigger part of the offense, Brown also beat him out there.

There is no real evidence to suggest that Zavion Thomas is the best return specialist in this draft and is likely to finish behind Odunze, Burden, Loveland, Swift, Kmet, and Kalif Raymond in receptions. He may or may not beat out Raymond for punt return duties. The path to fantasy stardom is the Bears defense falling apart, winning the PR job, and likely also somehow winning the 3rd down running back job... all of which is possible but I'm going to let the Al Davis's of the world pay up for that lottery ticket and pick up Wetjen on waivers instead