Despite the good times rolling with Chicago Bears fans, there is considerable pressure the franchise will have to get used to as Super Bowl aspirations move to the top of everyone's minds.
This offseason, the Bears underwent a bit of a makeover in parts of the secondary, with five players departing the roster: Kevin Byard, Jaquan Brisker, Nahshon Wright, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, and Jonathan Owens. NFL.com editor at large Gennaro Filice shared his list of the 12 rookies around the NFL who need to succeed, with Bears' first-round pick Dillon Thieneman making the list.
"The Bears just led the NFL with 23 interceptions, but 19 of them came via players who departed Chicago this offseason. A big part of that attrition came at safety, where the team lost its top three guys: Kevin Byard, Jaquan Brisker and C.J. Gardner-Johnson. Ryan Poles signed Super Bowl champ Coby Bryant to plug one safety hole, and then the general manager spent his first-round pick on a running mate. Like Bryant, Thieneman offers the kind of versatility Bears DC Dennis Allen loves to exploit at the position. During his true freshman campaign at Purdue, Thieneman shined as a ballhawking center fielder, snagging six interceptions in 12 games. But this past year at Oregon, he flourished in a role closer to the line of scrimmage, capably filling the box and manning the slot. Questions remain on Chicago’s defensive front, but the back end now features a pair of interchangeable playmakers. That’s a notable change from last season, when Byard (free safety) and Brisker (strong safety) had more defined roles. Allen’s undoubtedly in the lab, cooking up wicked designs for his new safety duo."
Dillon Thieneman has to live up to the expectations that were set for him
Coming out of Oregon last year, Thieneman racked up 92 tackles, five pass deflections, two interceptions, and one sack. He was named a first-team All-American and a first-team All-Big Ten selection for his performance on the field.
Thieneman now joins Coby Bryant in the secondary to help replace Byard and Brisker for at least the next three years. Bryant is a Super Bowl champion, so he's got nothing else to prove in his career, but his rookie teammate is on the other side of that conversation.
The Thieneman tenure is off to a slow start, as the Bears decided not to put him with the first team at the start of OTAs; Elijah Hicks is starting instead. There's a high chance this will change, but the Bears fan base wants to see their rookie safety get out there and play.
One thing Thieneman is going to have to replace is the number of turnovers caused by the guys who are gone. If he can't do that, he'd better be good at preventing yards from occurring.
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Everyone believes Thieneman will be a good rookie, but with a defense that has struggled over the past year, the pressure is on him to help right away and get this unit performing well.
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