What is your grade for the Bears first round pick of Dillon Thieneman?

TL;DR

The Chicago Bears selected Dillon Thieneman, a versatile safety from Oregon, as the 25th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. He is regarded as the consensus number-two safety in the draft class.

Key points

Dillon Thieneman was selected 25th overall by the Chicago Bears.
He is the consensus number-two safety in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Thieneman has shown versatility in playing different safety alignments.

Mentioned in this story

Oregon

Dillon ThienemanChicago Bears2026 NFL Draft

PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA - APRIL 23: Dillon Thieneman of Oregon celebrates after being selected twenty-fifth overall pick by the Chicago Bears during Round One of the 2026 NFL Draft at Acrisure Stadium on April 23, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) | Getty Images *Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NFL. Throughout the year, we ask questions of the most plugged-in Bears fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.* The NFL Draft couldn’t have fallen better for the Chicago Bears, as versatile safety Dillon Thieneman from Oregon was there at 25 for the taking. This is a great start for Chicago’s draft, as he’s the consensus number-two safety in the class. As a part of her Making Monsters pre-draft podcast series at 2nd City Gridiron, Taylor Doll spoke with Jon Helmkamp, who covers the draft and is a huge Oregon Ducks fan, and he gave us a lot of good stuff on Thieneman. “Oregon’s defense likes to play more of a split safety type defense,” Helmkamp said on the pod. “They’re not like a single high type of role, but at Purdue, he played single high. So, he’s shown the ability to play a variety of different alignments from the safety position, which is something that I think NFL teams are going to love.” Helmkamp added, “He could play down close to the line of scrimmage. He can muck it up in the run game. What you see time and time again when you put on the tape of the Oregon defense is Dillon Thieneman is the one that is identifying what’s going on on the offense and getting other people lined up. Like he knows what’s happening. His film study is great. He looks for the trends. He sees what’s going on.” According to our partners at , the over/under win total for the Bears is 9.5, which is fair, but if their defense gets another playmaker or two this offseason, I could see a lot of action coming in on the over.

Q&A

Who is Dillon Thieneman and what position does he play?

Dillon Thieneman is a versatile safety from Oregon, known for his ability to play various alignments in the secondary.

What was Dillon Thieneman's draft position in the 2026 NFL Draft?

Dillon Thieneman was selected as the 25th overall pick by the Chicago Bears in the 2026 NFL Draft.

What impact could Dillon Thieneman have on the Chicago Bears' defense?

Thieneman's versatility and intelligence on the field could enhance the Bears' defense, especially if they add more playmakers this offseason.