Good morning, Bears fans!
Well, the Bears said they were building their defense around speed and they weren’t lying: Dillon Thieneman’s 4.35 combine time was faster than Justin Jefferson, AJ Brown and Stefon Diggs.
Also speedy? That first round. The Bears pick arrived 45 minutes earlier than my estimate. I’m still not sure that ESPN has caught up, either.
— Kevin Kaduk
01 NFL Draft
Dillon Thieneman is the pick for the Bears at 25
The Oregon safety is a Day 1 starter, a freak athlete and the first safety drafted by the Bears in the first round since Mark Carrier in 1990.
02 NFL Draft
NFC North opponents build in the trenches
The Packers were idle on Thursday night because of the Micah Parsons trade, but the Lions and VIkings both took linemen. Detroit selected Clemson OT Blake Miller with the 17th pick while Minnesota overlooked the injury concerns of Florida DT Caleb Banks at 18.
03 Contracts
Bears open $10.375M of cap space
It finally happened. Jonah Jackson and Cole Kmet’s contracts were restructured, lowering their 2026 cap hit and giving the front office more immediately flexibility. Both cap hits will increase in ‘27, the final year of their deals. Over The Cap has all the numbers.
Tired of news that feels like noise?
Every day, 4.5 million readers turn to 1440 for their factual news fix. We sift through 100+ sources to bring you a complete summary of politics, global events, business, and culture — all in a brief 5-minute email. No spin. No slant. Just clarity.
More Than A Safety Pick
Gif by OregonDuckAthletics on Giphy
Let’s get the basics out of the way:
Dillon Thieneman was a three-year starter in college, first at Purdue for two seasons and then at Oregon for his junior year. He chose the Ducks over Ohio State after being ranked the top safety in the transfer portal. He’ll turn 22 on August 8.
Though not the most imposing specimen (6-0, 201), Thieneman’s athleticism is off the charts. His RAS score clocks in at 9.72 (out of 10) with both his composite speed and composite explosion grading at “elite.”
That athleticism gives Thieneman the ability to both close over the top on receivers and run downhill at rushers. He was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2023 after racking up 106 tackles and six interceptions.
Thieneman grew up in Westfield, Indiana and his two older brothers also played safety at Purdue. His father Ken is a Purdue engineering grad and owns a construction firm specializing in wastewater treatment.
OK, so bigger picture …
When the Bears took the field in the NFC Divisional Round game, their safeties were Kevin Byard and Jaquan Brisker. Both of those players are now gone, replaced with a top free agent target (Coby Bryant) and a first-round pick (Thieneman).
There were plenty of local signals the Bears coveted him. Adam Jahns stumped for him on a CHGO Bears podcast this week and David Haugh did the same on The Score on Thursday morning. Between his performance and character, Thieneman is the type of pick the McCaskey family has always wanted in their building.
Yet few local or national experts had Thieneman mocked to the Bears because the assumption was that he wouldn’t fall past the Vikings. When Minnesota rolled the dice on Caleb Banks and his broken foot, it opened a path to Thieneman landing in a Bears uniform.
In a city that’s always loved defense, Thieneman has a chance to become an immediate fan favorite and a potential star on a unit that currently lacks true star power.
So where does the risk lie?
There’s a chance the Bears picked the wrong safety. Nate Tice, who called for Colston Loveland over Tyler Warren last year, said on Hoge and Jahns that he prefers Emmanuel McNeil-Warren over Thieneman.
And obviously the Bears still need more linemen that can get to the quarterback. With all the high draft capital the team has had the past four seasons, it’s still crazy to me that none of it has secured a true difference maker up front. (Thieneman is the first defensive player the Bears have taken in the first round since Roquan Smith in 2018.)
It’s hard not to see that shortcoming hurting the Bears as they try to continue leveling up. Yet I also don’t begrudge them not wanting to gamble on position groups that had already been depleted of top-end talent.
Picking Thieneman is Ryan Poles’ bet on both Dennis Allen’s coaching ability with “his” players and the extended time a stellar secondary can give the team’s linemen.
As always with the draft, we’ll have to see if it works.
But I do like the process.
“Why mess around with those who don’t fit what we’re trying to do?”
Do you like the Dillon Thieneman pick?
The Bears own the 57th, 60th and 89th picks in tonight’s Rounds 2 and 3. Here are the best players still available. (ESPN)
Jason Lieser said the Bears had more pressing needs. (Sun-Times)
Vikings fans are sad Dillon Thieneman wasn’t named “the rightful heir to the Harrison Smith throne.” (The Viking Age)
Fox 32 reporter Bret Buganski ran a 4.94 40 at Soldier Field on Thursday night — in a full suit and dress shoes. Maybe an undrafted free agent candidate for the Bears on Saturday night? (Fox Chicago)
↗ Become a Bears By 7 member!
Ad-free newsletter experience
Commenting privileges
Season Preview + Exclusive Written Content
Member Giveaways
Support An Outlet That Puts Bears Fans First!
