The Bears used the 25th pick in the first round of the NFL Draft on safety Dillon Thieneman on Thursday night, betting on speed, versatility and a style of play they believe can change a secondary. The 6-foot, 201-pound defender is expected to pair with free agent acquisition Coby Bryant in a back end Chicago thinks can run with almost anyone.
Thieneman comes out of a college career that stretched across three seasons and two programs, with 39 games at Purdue and Oregon. He played at Purdue in 2023 and 2024 before finishing at Oregon in 2025, and he left with 306 tackles, eight interceptions, 14 pass breakups, 10.0 tackles-for-loss, 2.0 sacks and two forced fumbles. He also ran a 4.35 in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine, a number that fit the way the Bears talked about him after the pick.
Ryan Poles said Thieneman's tape popped out to Chicago's scouts because the safety plays with urgency, play speed and the ability to close on the football in both the run and the pass. Poles also called him obsessed with football, extremely fast, a great leader and violent in the way he plays the game. That kind of profile mattered to a team that said it was looking for players who can bring speed and character as well as production.
The fit was reinforced by the evaluation process. Bears director of college scouting Breck Ackley said Thieneman matches what he shows on film, calling him an all football guy who checked every single box. Lance Zierlein described him as a savvy three-year starter with NFL size, speed and alignment versatility, and as an instinctive, rangy safety who can roll down into big nickel or robber positioning. Chicago said he can handle strong safety, free safety and nickel back duties.
Poles said the feedback on Thieneman was strong from people who knew him from Westfield High School in Indiana through Oregon, and he compared the safety's makeup to 2025 first-round pick Colston Loveland as a similar type person/player combination. The Bears also believe Thieneman and Bryant can form one of the league's fastest and most versatile safety tandems, a vision that gives Thursday's pick a clear path to playing time if his game translates the way the team expects.
That expectation, though, is still the point of tension. Thieneman has the measurables, the production and the praise, but the Bears are asking a rookie who split his college career between Purdue and Oregon to step into a defense that wants instant range and discipline from day one. Chicago has its answer on paper; the next test is whether that speed and violence show up fast enough when the games count.
