Patriots draft profile: Dillon Thieneman has ideal range for the safety position

Accolades: First-team All-Big Ten (2025), Second-team All-American (2025), Honorable mention All-Big Ten (2024), Freshman All-American (2023), Big Ten Freshman of the Year (2023)

An impact player since his high school days, Thieneman was a four-year varsity starter at Westfield, ID, and eventually rated a three-star recruit. He received multiple offers from across the FBS landscape, but family ties prevailed and he joined Purdue in 2023. He immediately earned a starting role as a true freshman and over the next two seasons played 24 games for the Boilermakers. In those games, he registered 210 tackles as well as six interceptions and received multiple individual accolades even as his team went a combined 5-19.

That lack of success led to Purdue firing head coach Ryan Walters, which in turn prompted Thieneman to enter the transfer portal after his sophomore campaign. A four-star prospect, he was a hot commodity before opting to join Oregon. He ended up spending only one season with the Ducks before declaring for the draft, but did manage to earn first-team All-Big Ten honors after picking up 96 tackles and a pair of interceptions.

Draft profile

Projected round: 1 | Consensus big board: No. 18 | Patriots meeting: N/A

Strengths: Thieneman is a fantastic athlete whose straight line speed (97th-percentile 40-yard dash) is accompanied by natural fluidity. He can be trusted as a single-high safety due to his tremendous range and fast processor as well as his instincts; he reacts in an instant to attack the ball and has the closing speed in pursuit and coverage to make big plays in the backend. His skills are not limited to playing space, though, and he also can move to different spots in the lineup. He is a stout tackler who is not afraid of contact and bursts into run lanes.

He also took on a leadership role at Oregon, being named a game captain on four occasions in 2025 despite being in his first year in the program. In addition, he was a reliable player at both of his college stops, starting all 39 possible games without any time missed due to injury.

Weaknesses: Thieneman is not the biggest player, with his lack of height (39th percentile) and weight (27th percentile) limiting him when taking on tight ends in coverage or run support. In general and despite his natural versatility, he can look out of place the closer he gets to the line of scrimmage and gets lost in traffic on occasion. He also is not immune to taking some questionable angles when coming downhill. Finally, he failed to match his freshman ball production in subsequent seasons, going from six interceptions and a pair of forced fumbles in Year 1 to a combined two INTs over his final 27 games.

Patriots preview

What would be his role? Even though the Patriots have two starter-caliber safeties on their roster and rarely rotated into three-safety looks in 2025, they would find a way to get Thieneman on the field as a third option to complement Kevin Byard and Craig Woodson. While he might be used more in nickel and dime packages early on, he should be able to get reps in base looks as well given his abilities as a scheme- and package-agnostic player in the secondary. Further down the line, he would likely be tabbed to succeed Byard as the starting free safety.

Does he have positional versatility? As mentioned above, Thieneman is not limited by scheme or position. He can play man as well as zone, can line up in split safety or single-high looks, and move closer to the line or into the slot if need be. He also played 100-plus special teams snaps in all three of his college seasons, seeing action on five units (kickoff and punt coverage, kickoff and punt return, field goal/extra point block). In addition, he aligned as a running back for five snaps during his freshman campaign at Purdue.

What is his growth potential? Not turning 22 until training camp, Thieneman is still a developing player despite his immense college experience and an NFL-caliber athletic profile. If he can improve his angles and tackling technique, and make the necessary adjustments from college to pro level, he should become an impact player fairly quickly in his career and has all the tools to turn into a multi-year starter.

Why the Patriots? New England may have more pressing needs than safety to address in the first round, but as Eliot Wolf stated last week the draft is about more than short-term considerations. And with Kevin Byard turning 33 in August and on a one-year deal, Thieneman would be well-suited as a long-term replacement. In fact, given where they are positioned, the Patriots probably would not find a better prospect.

Why not the Patriots? There is a chance that Thieneman will not fall in the Patriots’ range, even if they are willing to move up the board in the first round. Furthermore, they simply might want to address other spots first before targeting a position with two starters in place.

One-sentence verdict: Thieneman is as good a safety as there is in the draft, and under the right circumstances — i.e. him still being around in the high 20s — would be a tremendous addition to a Patriots defense that prides itself in being versatile.

For more information about Dillon Thieneman and the rest of this year’s class of prospects, please take a look at Adam’s 2026 NFL Draft Guide.

Also, what do you think about Thieneman as a potential Patriots target? Do you like him? Where would you pick him? Please head down to the comment section to share your thoughts.