Grading The Pick: Dillon Thieneman becomes a major steal for Chicago and gives the Bears another impact player in the secondary
The Chicago Bears landed a steal with the 25th overall pick in the first-round of the 2026 NFL Draft by ending the slide of Oregon safety Dillon Thieneman to pair with Coby Bryant.
The Chicago Bears kept a tight ship going into their selection with the 25th overall pick in the first-round of the 2026 NFL Draft and no one truly knew what direction the Bears would go in with their first pick.
Well, the pick is in and the Bears have selected Oregon safety Dillon Thieneman. Thieneman was expected to go much higher in the first-round and the Bears just landed a high character, highly versatile player, at a position of need.
The Bears showed in free agency that the staff intended to retool the entire safety room following the 2025 season after letting Kevin Byard III, Jaquan Brisker, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, and Jonathan Owens all walk and sign with other teams. The first major step toward upgrading the room involved signing Coby Bryant to a massive new deal while adding Cam Lewis and re-signing Elijah Hicks. And we can add Thieneman to the room.
Bryant offers the team plenty of positional flexibility and operates as a “trained killer” on the field according to head coach Ben Johnson. Thieneman is even more flexible, giving defensive coordinator Dennis Allen a fun player to move around.
Dillon Thieneman is a rare safety prospect who can fulfill multiple roles for a defense. As a post safety, Thieneman has the burst and range to cover plenty of ground, and he has the instincts to quickly click and close on plays. His processing is second-to-none in this safety class, and his route recognition was ahead of several NFL players in my eyes. Even against condensed looks and bunch sets, Thieneman was quick to sort through the traffic and be in the right spots for his assignment, and always found himself around the ball. He can be a post safety, he can be your hash, he can stick as a robber. Oregon even had him in the slot, and I thought he looked plenty capable there as well. I do have some slight concerns with his maxed-out frame and needing to improve as a tackler, but the rest of his game is enough to outweigh any concerns I have there. He’s a true Swiss Army Knife defender who can be an asset for virtually any defensive coach with Pro Bowl-caliber upside.
AJ SCHulte
A to Z Sports
Ryan Poles opts out of addressing the defensive line, and we shouldn’t be surprised
Going into Draft Day, nearly every single draft analyst had the Bears going with a top defensive lineman in the first-round. Instead, general manager Ryan Poles continues to overlook adding more pass rush help, and we shouldn’t be surprised.
Poles invested a ton into the defensive line looking at Montez Sweat, Austin Booker, Dayo Odeyingbo, Shemar Turner, and Grady Jarrett. He wants to see things through, for better or worse, with that group before making another significant investment.
As things stand with Thieneman, it’s still a homerun player/fit and fills a starting spot.
Grade: A+
