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Tight end Sam Roush of the Chicago Bears.

Chicago Bears’ special teams coordinator Richard Hightower has been around long enough to know the difference between a group that talks about wanting to be great and one that actually means it.

So when the Bears’ coach offered his early read on Chicago’s 2026 rookie class, fans should pay attention.

“What I can tell you about this group is everything that we were told in the process about these guys, that is clearly evident,” Hightower said. “Number one, they’re our type of guys, number two, they love football. Number three, they can’t live without football. And they’re extremely competitive, and they have a burning desire to achieve greatness.”

The learning curve is real (and they’re embracing it)

GettyWR Zavion Thomas

The Chicago Bears’ 2026 class faces a steep adjustment just to get on the field. 

Zavion Thomas, Sam Roush, Keyshaun Elliott, and Logan Jones are all going through their first taste of the dynamic kickoff format, a scheme none of them ran in college. On top of that, punt rules at the NFL level are different from what they’ve known their whole lives.

Hightower didn’t sugarcoat it. These guys are learning four new phases of the game at once, adjusting to a new city, new faces, new terminology. Some are even living out of a hotel. And yet the buy-in has been immediate.

“As your football team gets better, the guys that you draft, unless they come in and just jump over top of a veteran, they’re going to have to play special teams,” Hightower said. “I like the mindset,  I like the mentality of those rookies so far. I look at Keyshaun that way, I look at Sam Roush that way, I look at Zavion that way.”

One Zavion Thomas moment stood out. His first conversation with Hightower wasn’t about targets or playing time. Instead he asked his coach why most rookies don’t make it in the NFL, and what holds them back.

“That told me right there about his mindset,” Hightower said.

For a kid who came in with a 4.28 forty, natural hands, and four touchdown modes on his resume, Thomas is clearly thinking past the physical. That’s a different kind of player. The speed is already there. The football IQ appears to be catching up fast.

Veterans are leading the way

What Richard Hightower described in the building goes beyond individual rookies impressing coaches. Colston Loveland, T.J. Edwards, and other veterans are out on the special teams field leading drills and setting the example for the new class to follow in real time.

Hightower especially wants Thomas watching the All-Pro returner the Chicago Bears signed in free agency, Kalif Raymond. If Thomas wants to understand what a pro’s work ethic looks like up close, that’s the guy to shadow every single day.

“That’s what Zavion needs to watch,” Hightower said. “Watch what Kalif does.”

Meanwhile, kicker Cairo Santos impressed Hightower simply by returning to work this offseason with the mentality that last year “means nothing.” That attitude appears contagious inside the building right now.

Sure it’s only early May. Pads aren’t on. These guys haven’t played a down of meaningful football yet. But if Hightower is right, the Chicago Bears may have found a rookie class that fits exactly what this new coaching staff wants the organization to become.