The Chicago Bears selected Dillion Thieneman with the 25th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. Here is what Chicago Bears assistant defensive backs coach and safeties coach Matt Giordano sees in the first-round prospect.
Turn on the game film from Oregon last season and two traits blatantly stand out in Dillon Thieneman's game.
That was the conclusion Chicago Bears assistant defensive backs and safeties coach Matt Giordano came to when he watched the 25th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
"Oh man, there was a lot, but the one thing that stuck out to me, you could just tell this guy loves football and he plays the right way," Giordano told reporters at Halas Hall on Thursday. "Everything he does is 100 miles an hour. He's physical, he's trying to just do things."
The Bears' safety finished with a 4.35 40-yard dash at the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine, ranking fourth among all safeties and tied for the ninth-fastest time of all the participants.
The straight-line 40-speed that separates Thieneman from some of his peers stands out when the 6-foot, 205-pound safety is in full pads.
"Definitely when his play speed, you see him tracking the ball extremely well in college," Giordano said. "I mean, there's a lot of deep balls he's tracking and he's either hitting the guy out of bounds or he's trying to swat the ball out of bounds. So you could tell he covers a lot grass that way. His combine times and scores were outstanding and just a reflection of his play."
Giordano enters his first year with the Bears after spending the last two season with the New Orleans Saints as a defensive assistant and primarily working with the secondary.
The Indianapolis Colts selected Giordano with the 134th overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft. He spent nine seasons in the league, playing for the Colts, Packers, Saints, Raiders and Rams.
With nearly a decade of NFL playing experience and two years of coaching defensive backs, Giordano will have to rely on his past to help get Thieneman acclimated to the NFL game, something all players, regardless of their time in the league, have to do.
"Well, I mean, it's just, there's always learning, right?" Giordano said. "And that's the beauty about this game. So, he's gonna learn how to play in the box and play as a post player in the league. Rookies, and doesn't matter if you're a first-year or a 10-year vet, you're always learning. So I mean he just needs to continue just to learn one day at a time, learn the lessons each day and just apply and move forward."
Defensive coordinator Dennis Allen emphasizes versatility in his defense, a trait that makes Thieneman and fellow safety Coby Bryant so intriguing. To ensure that strength is maximized this upcoming season and their chemistry builds in their first season in Allen's defense, Giordano's coaching will play a pivotal role.
Establishing that connection, though, requires things not in a playbook.
"That just comes with time," Giordano said. "Time, reps, and everything. So with time and reps, that cohesiveness builds."
