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"He has that kind of ability," said receivers coach Darryl Drake. "He has that kind of upside. We'll be working towards allowing him to have the opportunity to do that."
Hester has emerged in recent weeks on offense, catching nine passes for 95 yards in the Bears' last two games after compiling nine receptions for 139 yards in the first 12 contests.
"He's taken some of those steps [toward] becoming maybe a full-time guy where we're talking about Devin Hester the receiver rather than Devin Hester the Pro Bowl kick returner," said head coach Lovie Smith. "He's made big strides to becoming a better receiver.
"In time, that's what I see him being. I see him being an every down wide receiver and doing the same type of special things once he gets his hands on the football as a receiver."
After being selected to his second straight Pro Bowl as a return specialist earlier this week, Hester admitted that he has thought about one day making the all-star game as a receiver.
"I think I'm gradually getting better," said Hester, a 2006 second-round draft pick from Miami. "I don't feel I'm a complete receiver right now. [But] I feel I'm improving with each game."
Drake agrees with that assertion and also believes that Hester has gotten a bum rap from some outsiders who believe that the second-year pro has been slow to learn the offense.
The receivers coach points to a pass play a few weeks ago when Hester ran the correct route, but it appeared he wasn't on the same page as the quarterback because of where the ball was thrown.
"Sometimes he's been unfairly tagged as not knowing what to do in certain situations, and it hasn't been his fault," Drake told Mayer.
"There have been times he's been in a no-huddle offense and the widest guy has got to come in and get the play. He comes in and gets the play and he's unfairly tagged as not knowing what to do. But they have to tell him what the play is because he's in a no-huddle situation."
Mayer went on to note that Drake sees a much more polished receiver than the one who was switched to the position during the offseason after playing cornerback as a rookie last year.
"He has really progressed tremendously, and has done a great job of picking things up and understanding what we're trying to do," Drake said. "We've been able to move him around and put him in different spots.
"I couldn't be happier with him. The sky's the limit for him. He's got a bright future at that position."
Learning the nuances of the position as well as the offense, it takes time to develop as an NFL receiver. Just look at Bernard Berrian, who caught just 28 passes in his first two seasons before emerging as a primary contributor last year with 51 receptions for 775 yards and 6 touchdowns.
"It's so unfair for people to expect that to happen for [Hester] right away in a pro offense," Drake said. "There's so much to learn -- reading coverages, understanding when your route changes and when your route doesn't change.
"[But] I've been tickled to death with how he's progressed. He's had some time to be involved some this year and I just see his role taking off as the future comes."