Oregon Safety Dillon Thieneman is going to be a mid-first-round selection in April's Draft, and who would benefit the most from the budding star?
Oregon Ducks' Dillon Thieneman made himself into a future great NFL talent, and he is going to get his opportunity to go to the next level with a very good NFL team. Whoever puts Thieneman's name on draft card is getting a game-changing talent on the defensive side of the ball.
Thieneman did exactly what he needed to do at the NFL Combine on Friday. He came in, tested fantastically, and confirmed what all the draft scouts already considered about him.
He ran a blazing fast 4.35 forty-yard dash and showed some real explosion in the jumping workouts. He matched that up with a really smooth field workout and put the finishing touches on a very positive outlook for his draft experience.
So, if he is projected to be a mid-first round player, where are his best fits?
No. 3: Dallas Cowboys
Dallas is going to be in a very interesting spot. They have picks No. 12 and No. 20, so they are absolutely a team that is a candidate to make a trade up if they feel so inclined. The Cowboys are being rumored to be leaning toward defense early in this draft, and if they go safety, they will have two good options.
© Ben Lonergan/The Reg | 2025 Sep 20 Either Caleb Downs or Dillon Thieneman will have the star on their helmet come next year. They simply need to improve that side of the ball every way they can this offseason. Dallas' offense is Super Bowl-ready, but that defense has left them hanging every year for the past decade.
No. 2 Detroit Lions
Okay, this one will take some convincing. The Lions feel like their Super Bowl window is closing at a rapid rate. They had their chance over the past three seasons, and then this year was riddled again by injury, and the Lions were on the outside looking in for the playoffs.
Detroit's offense is going to be humming, and if they want to pair up another safety with Brian Branch, that makes a lot of sense in my eyes. For Thieneman, he would join a team that is ready togo win right away, which is where you want to be.
No 1: Minnesota Vikings
Thieneman doesn't solve all of Minnesota's problems, but it gives them yet another elite talent on the back end of the defense. More importantly, safety Harrison Smith isn't going to play forever.
When it comes time for Smith to hang up the cleats, he can pass the baton directly to Thieneman to patrol the Minnesota skies for another 10-plus years.
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