Grade

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1st Round

2026 Draft Class

Dillon Thieneman

Grade

Status

DraftedR1 • P25Chicago Bears

Oregon

6'0 1/8"

201lbs

Age 22

Aug 7, 2026

Executive Summary

Dillon Thieneman is an instinctive, explosive safety whose elite closing speed, range, zone instincts, and ball skills give him the tools to become a high-level playmaker on the back end of an NFL defense.

Strengths

Athleticism / Frame, Game IQ / Play Recognition, and Range

Weaknesses

Man Coverage, Block Shedding, and Tackling Consistency

Full Scouting Report

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Game IQ / Play Recognition

Pros:

•Can read QBs eyes very well

•Very solid play recognition and ability to track where the ball is and who has it

•Isn’t fooled by some play fakes

•Sees and reacts to plays unfolding in front of him very well

Cons:

•Needs to do a better job making sure he doesn’t get beat by a cut to the inside

•A really good play action pass will fool him and trigger him to come downhill

Coverage Ability

Pros:

•Closes the gap between him and the receiver extremely quickly in order to make a play on the ball

•Can stay in range of receivers simply based off raw speed

•Attaches himself to routes that are breaking open in zone coverage extremely well

•Much better in zone than in man

Cons:

•Eyes are in the backfield too much when in man coverage

•Lets guys get on his toes in his backpedal before flipping his hips, which got him burned by Devonte Ross from Penn State

•Can open his hips too early

•Needs to see much more active hands while in coverage

•Needs to do a better job getting his head turned around sooner in man coverage

•Got caught flat-footed and not far enough outside leverage for an easy walk-in pick play TD against Wisconsin

Range

Pros:

•Ton of range because of his raw speed and short area quickness

•Has enough recovery speed

•Covers ground extremely quickly

Cons:

•If he gets burned, it is still pretty challenging for him to get back in position to make a play

Tackling / Physicality

Pros:

•Gets a good breakdown prior to the tackle

•Tracks that back hip well

•Sheds blocks against receivers and smaller players well

•Hits with the correct shoulder pretty consistently

•Keeps a good pad level

•Every now and then can lay a big hit down

•Pretty consistent wrap up

Cons:

•Can really struggle to get off blocks from TEs and OL

•There isn’t much violence in his hits

•Can definitely come in too high and end up swinging around the ball carrier

•Struggles to secure tackles at times because his arms can’t reach all the way around the legs

•Needs to stop tackling with his head down at times

Angles / Pursuit

Pros:

•Pursues the ball extremely well, especially downhill

•Plenty of speed to pursue QBs in the pocket and on scrambles

•Angles are normally decent

Cons:

•Takes occasional bad angles to the ball

Athleticism / Frame

Pros:

•9.71 RAS Score

•Pretty average height for the position

•18 reps on bench is slightly above average

•4.35 40 is in the 98th percentile, which is absolutely elite

•41-inch vert is in the 94th percentile

•10.05 broad jump places him in the 75th percentile

•Arm length is meh at a little over 31 inches

•Extremely quick first step getting downfield

Cons:

•201 is underweight

Ball Skills

Pros:

•Very solid ball skills to go up and get one

•Incredible game-sealing pick against Penn State

•Good overall ball tracking skills for deflections and INTs

Cons:

•Can do a slightly better job ripping through hands at the catch point

Versatility

Pros:

•Lined up in man

•Plays over the top as the FS and in the box as a robber

•Is an effective blitzer off the edge

Cons:

•None

Games Watched:

•Week 3 vs NU, Week 5 vs PSU, Week 8 vs WIS, Week 10 vs MINN, Week 11 vs USC, Week 12 vs WASH

Ideal Situation:

•Dillon Thieneman has great instincts as a player. He reads QBs' eyes well, can dissect and read plays effectively, and normally is good at not biting on play fakes. Thieneman is pretty elite in zone coverage. He reacts and can get downhill in a hurry to make a play on the ball or attach himself to a receiver who is breaking open. His man coverage skills are still a work in progress, but I am sure the Bears will find ways to keep him from being 1-on-1 with offensive weapons as much as possible. Thieneman has a ton of range because of that closing speed, and he did run a 4.35 40, which is absolutely blazing. As a tackler, he was pretty consistent and got a little better as the season went on. One thing I really like about him is he gets a breakdown before making the hit, which leads to him getting juked out much less than other defensive backs. He pretty consistently came in at a good pad level to sweep the legs out. He plays with a ton of hustle and is a relentless pursuer of the ball carrier. While his angles aren’t perfect, they are normally pretty decent. As an athlete, there is a lot to be desired. He is super fast and can jump out of the gym with a 41-inch vertical. He is a very explosive athlete. Thieneman has great ball tracking skills and can go up and make a catch like a top-notch receiver. While Thieneman isn’t necessarily a Swiss Army knife that can return and such, he still offers plenty of versatility for a team. While he is NFL-ready, Thieneman will need to clean up some aspects of his game. Thieneman can sometimes, in his desire to come downhill and make a play, need to be better at not overpursuing the ball and opening cutback lanes. Because of Thieneman’s relentless motor, he would occasionally bite on good play-action fakes. Thieneman in man coverage was far too inconsistent against receivers. One play he would look comfortable and play the receiver in stride. Other times he would give up 5 yards of separation and was just lucky they didn’t throw at him. He looked far too hesitant, and the receiver was able to do pretty much whatever he wanted to gain leverage on him. I want to see him be more physical and patient in man coverage. Thieneman, while he isn’t scared of laying the wood, doesn’t have a ton of hit power. Guys were able to hold on to balls where Thieneman got a clean, hospital-pass-type hit on them. Thieneman’s missed tackle rate was around 11.5%, which is pretty solid. He also struggles to get off any OL block or TE block in the run game if he is picked up. Like his teammate Bryce Boettcher, he doesn’t possess knockback strength on contact. Sitting at 201 lbs, he doesn’t have a lot of weight going into hits against guys 20-30 pounds heavier than him. While Thieneman has great ball skills, there were some plays that should’ve been broken up by simply better hand timing and ripping and clawing at the ball at the catch point and through the ground. Dillon Thieneman was drafted in the 1st Round, Pick 25 by the Chicago Bears. Thieneman projects to be the starting SS for the Bears, and I can’t disagree with this more. No, I don’t think that it’s because Dillon Thieneman isn’t ready for NFL competition yet. I disagree with the role he will be playing. As a SS, you will be asked to play man coverage a lot more, specifically on TEs and occasionally slot receivers. At the current moment, he is not ready to face NFL competition in man coverage. Thieneman is best when he uses his 4.35 to be a center fielder, roam the deep half of the field, and come up and play in the box as a robber. Guys like Brock Bowers, Trey McBride, and George Kittle will be able to dominate his frame and his passiveness in man coverage. Coby Bryant works better as an SS in my opinion anyway. He isn’t as fast and has more experience in the league. Thieneman is still very young and about to turn 22 in a couple of days, so he still has plenty of time to grow as a young player. Dillon Thieneman also has a clean injury history. Overall, I really like Dillon Thieneman and even have him ranked higher than the poster boy of the safety class in Caleb Downs, who, while he is a solid player, nothing stood out to the point where I thought he was the #1 player in the draft like some scouts had him as. I think he will have a successful career in the NFL, and the Bears' secondary will get even better than it already was.

•Edit: At the time of me writing this, Coby Bryant was just announced as being hurt for 8-10 weeks after a left knee injury. If the Bears were smart, they would move Cam Lewis to SS, as he is more of a corner anyway, and move Dillon Thieneman to FS, which should've already been the plan all along.

Ratings:

•Game IQ / Play Recognition – 8.7/10

•Coverage Ability – 7.7/10

•Range – 8.5/10

•Tackling / Physicality – 7.8/10

•Angles / Pursuit – 8.2/10

•Athleticism / Frame – 9.2/10

•Ball Skills – 8.5/10

•Versatility – 8.1/10

Total = 83.0/100 Early 2nd or Late 1st

Combine Testing

Height

6'1"

Weight

201lbs

26thBelow Average

40-Yard Dash

4.35s

98thElite

Vertical

41.0in

94thElite

Bench

18reps

57thAbove Average

Broad Jump

125in

75thVery Good

Three-Cone

—

Shuttle

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DPH Proprietary Scores

Frame Score

Measures a prospect's physical build and size relative to historical NFL positional standards.

DPH Athlete

Diamond Prospects' proprietary athletic score that evaluates a player's overall athletic profile using combine testing and positional percentiles.

Total Score

The combined athletic evaluation generated from Frame Score and DPH Athlete Score.

Combine Year: 2026 • Data from DPH Combine Database

Andrés Griñe

Founder of DiamondProspects and Head NFL Scout View Full Bio

I am an Assistant in Player Personnel/Scouting for Washington State Football with over six years of experience scouting NFL prospects and evaluating talent. I previously covered high school baseball as a writer for NMPreps and now run DiamondProspects, where I publish scouting reports, prospect evaluations, and draft analysis. I am currently a junior pursuing a degree in Sports Management and am originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Comments (2)

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Jandro

New Mexico Lobos

Golden State Warriors

Las Vegas Raiders⭐ Diego Pavia ⭐ Fernando Mendoza 👁️ 📋 💎 ⏱️ ⭐ 🔥 📣 📊 🗺️ 👟 ⚡ 🔦 🏅 ⏳

3 months ago

Is he a white defensive back?

Andres

Washington State Cougars

Boston Celtics

Las Vegas Raiders⭐ Fernando Mendoza 👁️ 📋 💎 🏆 ⏱️ ⭐ 🔥 💠 📣 ⚡ 🔥 👍 📊 🔬 🧮 🗺️ ⛏️ 💡 📈 📉 🧠 👟 ⚡ 🔦 💠 ⛏️ 🕳️ 🪨 🏀 💰 ⏳ 📋3 months ago

Safety not cornerback. Think Jeff Heath, Eric Weddle, and Harrison Smith. Not comparing Thieneman to those guys, but just a couple of white safeties.