Chicago Bears rookie safety Dillon Thieneman is expected to be a beast in the NFL, but things have started out slowly for him.
In the opening weeks of OTAs, Thieneman found himself working with the second stringers rather than the starters, as many expected. Many assumed it was just the Bears easing him into the NFL and giving him time to learn defensive coordinator Dennis Allen's scheme.
That might have been the case as Bears reporter Herb Howard highlighted Thieneman in his evaluation of Day 1 of mandatory minicamp. Thieneman was seen playing with the starters and even had a moment where he "sacked" Bears quarterback Caleb Williams coming off the edge.
Dillon Thieneman is starting to shine bright at Bears OTAs
This is the type of player the Bears had envisioned Thieneman being when they selected him 25th overall in the 2026 NFL Draft. Bears fans saw what he could do last year at Oregon after racking up 92 tackles, five pass deflections, two interceptions, and one sack for the Ducks. He was named to the first-team All-Big Ten and All-American selections.
The versatility with Thieneman is what attracted the Bears to go after him in the first round and fill a need at safety, as they lost Kevin Byard and Jaquan Brisker in free agency. While the Bears added Coby Bryant in free agency to help with pass coverage, Thieneman can do much of what Baltimore Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton currently does.
Chicago would love to have Thieneman in the box to help stop the run and rush the quarterback, as they did at OTAs. He also has the ability to create turnovers in the secondary, as he showed in college at Oregon and Purdue.
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Thieneman is a weapon unlike any the Bears have ever had in their secondary, and they need to take advantage of it. From his roughly 4.3-second speed to his tackling abilities, this might be one of the most important picks the Bears have made since Caleb Williams, as Thieneman can truly be the future of this defense.
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