Bears Indiana stadium jokes<\/a> aside, Thieneman grew up in Westfield, Ind., home of the Colts’ training camp.<\/p>\n “I know a little bit about the Bears’ history,” he said. “I grew up not too far away from Chicago so I know a decent amount there.<\/p>\n Bears director of college scouting Breck Ackley pointed to Dillon Thieneman\u2019s pick against Penn State as the top standout moment in scouting him: \u201cThat\u2019s a guy going to win a ballgame for his team and rely on this instincts.\u201d pic.twitter.com\/H45gZL8hY6<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Chris Emma (@CEmma670) April 24, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n What the Bears will find is they have a deep safety type who has multiple skills, great athletic ability, and is a student of the game. <\/p>\n What Breck Ackley Said About Thieneman<\/p>\n “Versatility, football character, I mean, really checked every box along the way,” Bears college scouting director Breck Ackley said. “He goes to the combine, he blows it up. He matches what he shows on film. You get a chance to meet him, talk to him at the combine, and he is an all-football guy.<\/p>\n “Everything that you felt when you met him matched what the school said – both Purdue and Oregon. So it was just one of those deals where he checked every single box and there were really by the end of the process no questions about him. Obviously, it lined up.”<\/p>\n Dillon Thieneman might be the swaggiest man in America pic.twitter.com\/aehMHPGV2H<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) April 24, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Ackley said the Bears saw various types of roles filled perfectly by Thieneman throughout his career.<\/p>\n “If you go back to his Purdue tape ’23, when he had six picks, I mean he’s really got some center field range stuff,” Ackley said. “You know, Oregon used him a little bit kind of in a rover role at times, in a different role.<\/p>\n “Safety is one of those positions where you really have to watch a lot of tape but there is plenty of snaps for him with his range, he can flip his hips, he can cover ground and then you add in the versatility, the run support, the physicality. I would say range stands out.”<\/p>\n Oregon defensive back Dillon Thieneman brings down Texas Tech quarterback Behren Morton in the Orange Bowl. | Ben Lonergan\/The Register-Guard \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images<\/p>\n The Oregon experience was crucial for Thieneman in that he did plenty of the thingds Bars defensive coordinator Dennis Allen demands in his scheme.<\/p>\n \u201cAt Purdue, I played mostly in the post, I was playing free safety there,” he said. “But then Oregon, we played field and battery. And in Oregon\u2019s defense, you\u2019re asked to do a little bit of everything.<\/p>\n “I\u2019m rolling down in the box, I\u2019m rotating, different cover-3s. I\u2019m playing the half (cover-2), quarters. I got really comfortable playing a lot of different coverages and different positions. Really good playing field, and then I could play boundaries. Doing those. And then I cross-trained nickel in the offseason, too, so I felt pretty comfortable moving between all those positions because I knew everything on the back end.\u201d<\/p>\n The knowing is important to him. He has two notebooks every week for game week.<\/p>\n “I had a notebook just for opponent scouting, and I had a notebook where I wrote everything down,” Thieneman said. “So I\u2019d write everything in one notebook, and then I\u2019d kind of compile it and what I needed to study and what I needed to know in another so I could study that before the game.\u201d<\/p>\n His 4.35 speed from the combine was in the range of his goals, but maybe faster than even he expected.<\/p>\n “Going into the combine training, I set a goal of being 4.3,”\u00a0 he said. “Then to go out there and do that, kind of surpassed even my expectations to the point. I knew in my heart I was going to get a 4.3 but I didn’t know exactly what it would be.<\/p>\n “I feel like speed is very interesting because there’s normal speed and then there’s gameplan speed. So the more you can process and recognize, the faster you can play in-game closer to your speed.”<\/p>\n One thing I loved about Dillon Thieneman’s tape is how smart he was and how he was constantly communicating with teammates. Here he gets his teammates lined up presnap, communicates as the WR goes in motion and has the speed to get into position and force the RB back inside pic.twitter.com\/SWn7E13qtN<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Steve Letizia (@CFCBears) April 24, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Which explains all the studying and notebooks. <\/p>\n Little Troy<\/p>\n The studying also is reflective of one of the players he patterned his play after, Troy Polamalu.<\/p>\n ” I liked watching some of his interviews,\u201d Thieneman said. \u201cIf he knew where the ball was going, he would go switch positions with that player so he could be in on the play so he could have an impact for the team. <\/p>\n \u201cJust having the knowledge of the defense, but also the understanding of what the offense is trying to do.”<\/p>\n While the Bears feel they got their man, they didn’t have a 30 visit with Thieneman. That\u2019s consistent with how they use the visits to Halas Hall. They have said they don’t usually give 30 visits unless they’re doing it to answer questions about players. <\/p>\n There were no questions about Thieneman. The tape said it all.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the combine, I had a formal with them that went really well,” he said. “I feel I really connected with all the guys there. And then, I hadn\u2019t talked to them too much. But I knew that they had a lot of interest in me.<\/p>\n “That was kinda most of the conversations that we had.”<\/p>\n Not much needed to be said. The Bears got their man and Thieneman is in a place where his strengths can be utilized.<\/p>\n The Bears got better tonight. Dillon Thieneman is going to be a stud for Chicago. <\/p>\n Now they have 3 picks on Day 2 of the NFL Draft with plenty of intriguing options. Can\u2019t wait. \ud83d\udc40 pic.twitter.com\/CkKe4SpSit<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Bearsszn (@bearszn) April 24, 2026<\/a>The Really Comical Clause Put in Bears Stadium Bill<\/a>Coby Bryant Fits as Mentor for Bears Safety Options in Draft<\/a>The Issues Ryan Poles Might Miss While Addressing This Draft<\/a>Historic Chicago Bears First-Round Pick Provides Exact Fit in Key Ways<\/a><\/p>\n X: BearsOnSI<\/p>\n![\"Oregon](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/01kpyth3drf6mq6b57s2.jpg\" "\\"Oregon")
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