Oregon's Dillon Thieneman, once a top safety prospect, navigates rising competition and draft day uncertainty. His development at Oregon fuels his NFL ambitions.
For much of the pre-draft process, Oregon safety Dillon Thieneman was thought to be the No. 2 safety in the 2026 class, right behind Caleb Downs out of Ohio State.
However, with days to go before the draft, the stock of Arizona safety Treydan Stukes rose, with some around the league thinking he could eclipse Thieneman.
The Chicago Bears selected Thieneman with the No. 25 pick.
Downs was thought to be a top 10 pick. Thieneman was projected by many around the league to be a first-round talent.
Thieneman began his college career at Purdue before transferring to Oregon in 2025. He played in 13 games last season, recording 86 total tackles, one sack, two interceptions, and seven passes defensed.
Scouting Report
Lance Zierlein of NFL media thinks Thieneman has the potential to be an above-average player at the safety position in the league. He has strong instincts but could be more physical.
"Savvy three-year starter with NFL size, speed, and alignment versatility," Zierlein wrote. "Thieneman is an extension of his defensive coordinator, aligning and adjusting the secondary to motion and pre-snap shifts. He’s an instinctive, rangy safety who can roll down into big nickel or robber positioning.
"He has a good feel for play design and route concepts in zone but has average change of direction to match breaks in man. He’s not a big thumper near the line, but he rushes into the action with a relentless pursuit that should allow him to keep stacking high scores in the tackle columns. Thieneman checks important boxes for teams looking to add versatile playmakers in the secondary."
Oregon helped Dillon Thieneman improve
During the NFL scouting combine earlier this year, Thieneman credited Oregon and head coach Dan Lanning's staff for preparing him to play in the league.
Thieneman noted that he struggled with open-field tackling at Purdue, and the Ducks helped him become a much better tackler before declaring for the draft.
"One huge one was open-field tackling coming from that second year at Purdue. It wasn't the best that year," Thieneman said, via USA Today. "It was something that I really worked on during the offseason with my coaches doing extra drills.
"It's something I feel like I really excel at now."
Tackling explosive offensive players will be critical for Thieneman now.
Thieneman will help replace Jaquan Brisker and Kevin Byard III, who left in free agency.
The Bears signed safety Coby Bryant in free agency, but needed another starting caliber safety.