Yesterday's price is not today's price due to the combine.
The Minnesota Vikings feel destined to choose someone to add to the secondary with their first-round pick next month in the NFL Draft. Whether that is a cornerback or a safety remains the question. Many mock drafts have connected the dots and predicted either cornerback Avieon Terrell from Clemson or safety Dillon Theineman from Oregon.
Theineman feels like the heir apparent to Harrison Smith, who some believe is on the verge of retirement after a fine career in Minnesota. The former Purdue safety may have just made things very hard for the Vikings after his stunning performance at the combine tonight.
While OSU's Lorenzo Styles, brother of OSU LB Sonny Styles, stole the show with his blazing 4.27 40-yard dash, Theineman ran a sparkling 4.35 40-yard dash, which surprised even his biggest supporters. His 1.52 ten-yard split was good for fifth among safeties and is just as impressive.
The show didn't stop there for Theineman; the safety came in second with a 41.00" vertical jump. Theineman's broad jump is tenth-best among all players currently doing on-field drills, with tight ends, and two more days of receivers, running backs, offensive linemen, and quarterbacks still on tap for the weekend.
Theineman has been compared to players like Smith and Eric Weddle, but neither had the speed. For Minnesota, this impressive performance from the safety will add eyes to the prospect, and force the Vikings to decide if they want to roll the dice on him sticking around until pick 18.
There is no doubt that OSU's Caleb Downs is the first safety off the board on draft day. However, the bidding war for Theineman has now begun. Teams already knew what he had to offer with his Purdue and Oregon tape, but any undecided team might use his athletic performance on Friday night as the tiebreaker or tip the scales in his favor.
Per Next Gen Stats, Theineman finished with a 77 production score (7th among safeties), 86 athleticism score (1st), and an overall 81 score (4th).
Lance Zierlein breaks down Theineman's game:
"Savvy three-year starter with NFL size, speed and alignment versatility. 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."