How Bears Veteran Safety Coby Bryant Will Help Rookie Dillon Thieneman

Coby Bryant and Dillon Thieneman are both learning Dennis Allen's defense for the first time. 

A major difference between the two is one safety just finished his fourth year in the NFL and is coming off a Super Bowl victory, while the other is entering the league for the first time. 

Even with the drastic differences, Allen can lean on Bryant's experience with the Seattle Seahawks to help Thieneman acclimate to the NFL. 

"Yeah, I think, I think extremely valuable, you know, I think, you know, with all these young players, you know, having a veteran presence in the room that's done it, that's done it at a high level, he happens to have just come off winning a Super Bowl, so he understands what that looks like," Allen said. "You know, I think that's important for all the young guys is that we have some veteran players to kind of show them the way and lead them in the right direction, you know. And look, you've been in areas and teams where, you know, you have have guys that lead them in the wrong direction, you know. But I think we got the right guys in our building."

The Bears' defensive coordinator isn't setting lofty goals for Thieneman, who was selected with the 25th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. Allen wants the rookie to gradually get better, grasp the defensive system and play with the speed and athleticism that he displayed while he was at Purdue and Oregon. 

"So, I'm excited about him," Allen said. "I like what I saw in the spring with him, and I think, you know, mentally, I think he's going to be, you know, able to handle everything. So I think he'll be a guy that, you know, I plan on him picking up things pretty quickly."

Bryant writes his goals on his mirror every year and one of them is to become a team captain. The veteran safety also wants his teammates to know him for the energy he radiates, which he feels can be contagious. 

For a young player like Thieneman, Bryant's football IQ and experience is invaluable. And the veteran safety already sees how the rookie will benefit him and the rest of Chicago's defense.

"Like I said previously, he know the game, you know?" Bryant said. "I don't really have to tell him too much. We're on the same page every snap of the ball. We can communicate off the field as well too. He's going to be a great young player for sure, and I'm excited to play along with him."

The Bears finished their first training camp practice on Tuesday morning, signaling the start of what will be a long season ahead of the Bears. Bryant and Thieneman lined up as the starting safeties with the first-team defense. 

Building the chemistry across the secondary will take the rest of the summer. While there are no shortcuts to creating that synergy, Bryant understands what it takes to reach the top.

"Just like I said previously, just one day at a time," Bryant said. "Like, it's early right now and just keep competing, you know? It's like I told them, stay in the book, continuously work hard each and every day and, you know, we're all, like I said, we're in this together. Nobody's on their own. Ask questions. I even told the younger guys just ask me as many questions. Text me whatever, you know, come to my room and, you know, we can study plays. Whatever the case may be."