Zavion Thomas burst onto the scene with an electric 97-yard touchdown on the very first snap of his preseason debut in the Bears' preseason finale against Tennessee. The rookie pass-catcher has speed to burn, and it was on full display (along with a nifty double move) on the play.

That'll probably be the last time we ever see No. 81 Zavion Thomas catching a long touchdown pass. Hopefully there will be many more to come for No. 13 Zavion Thomas, though. The third-round selection debuted his new number at practice yesterday.

Thomas donning the No. 13 will be awfully reminiscent of a former fan favorite. In fact, with his skill set, he has a chance to stir up some serious déjà vu.

No, we're not talking about Kevin White. I'm referring to Johnny Knox. The electric pass-catcher who had a very bright future ahead of him before his career got cut short in 2011. The parallels are somewhat jarring.

Two speed demons who fell well under the radar

Full disclosure: I was actually planning to write an article comparing Knox and Thomas before the season kicked off. The Devin Hester comparisons that hit X this week (more on those later) conjured the idea. And then he changed his number... and I decided to prioritize it.

Nobody was talking about Johnny Knox ahead of the 2009 NFL Draft. Sure, he lit up the combine with a 4.34-second 40-yard dash and near-elite testing in agility drills (4.15-second 20-yard shuttle and a 6.81-second three-cone drill), but he also went to small-school Abilene Christian University, which caused him to fall through the cracks. The Bears eventually scooped him up in the fifth round.

Meanwhile, the Bears drafted Zavion Thomas in the third round 17 years later. While Thomas played his college ball at WR powerhouse LSU, that doesn't mean that the Bears rookie earned powerhouse draft status. In fact, many thought he was a massive reach. Most thought he'd come off the board in the fifth- or sixth-round.

Knox wasted no time in proving his doubters wrong. It might be too early to say definitively that Thomas has done the same, but it's difficult not to get excited about his early progress.

They also share legit return return game chops

Interestingly, Thomas was actually compared to Johnny Knox's teammate and 2024 Hall of Fame inductee Devin Hester after an electric 39-yard punt return against the Titans. Honestly, with him reeling the defense to the sideline before cutting upfield, it's easy to see shades of the all-time great return man.

The odds that Thomas ever turns into the second-coming of the league's greatest return man seem slim. I'm all for the comparison, and I love the fact that he put us in a position to make it, but there will only ever be one Devin Hester.

However, Knox was also a great return man in his own right. He actually earned a Pro Bowl nod in his rookie season after finishing second in the league with an average of 29 yards per kick return. That's another area where he and Thomas have similarities, as Thomas was widely considered the top return man in this year's class. Early signs are certainly promising in that regard, as well.

Knox provided an immediate impact for Chicago. Beyond the Pro Bowl nod as a returner, he also finished his rookie season with 45 catches for 527 yards and five touchdowns. With Thomas firmly behind Colston Loveland, Rome Odunze, and Luther Burden III in the pecking order (while also splitting time with both Kalif Raymond and Jahdae Walker), those would be ambitious benchmarks to hit.

Nevertheless, if Thomas shows that his five-catch, 140-yard performance against Tennessee was no fluke, then they might have a hard time taking him off the field. Those figures (especially in the yardage category) will be well within reach if he ascends to the unquestioned fourth option in the passing attack.

Many were questioning the Bears' decision to draft Thomas in April. If he does follow in Knox' footsteps, those same people will be very happy they pulled the trigger on him over the next couple of months.