NFL Draft Special: Reaction to Bears selecting Oregon safety Dillon Thieneman
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Who did the Bears select with the 25th pick in the 2026 NFL Draft?
Let's see who it is. We're heading out to Pittsburgh. Roger Goodell headed to the podium. With the 25th pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. The Chicago Bears select Dylan Thienemann. There it is. Defensive back, Oregon. Again, it was a clean sweep before the pick as we went around the horn and said who we would like to see them take. Just a quick rundown of Dane Brugler's sort of write-up on Dylan Thienemann. One-year starter at Oregon, a productive post-safety at Purdue for two seasons, transferred to Eugene State. For his junior season, earned a 2025 All-America nod for the Ducks. With both of his interceptions clinching victories late in the game. Collected more than 300 combined tackles in three college seasons.
Averaged 7.9 tackles per start. Open field athleticism. Says Steelman has a lot to offer in the NFL because of his versatility. Making plays over the top in coverage or downhill versus the run. Shows impressive range and anticipation from the deep half of the field, as well as the intelligence to understand what opponents are trying to do. Although he doesn't always play up to his testing numbers, he can guard both sidelines and sort through routes. He can clean up some things in the run game, too. He has a nose for the ball and doesn't hesitate flying to the contact point. That sounds like exactly what the Bears needed in that secondary, Ant.
This is exciting. This is a really exciting draft pick for Ryan Poles, for the Chicago Bears. I can only imagine what that war room at Hallis Hall looked like, how it exploded as more and more picks came off the board leading to this particular player being available to them because I do think he suits exactly what the Chicago Bears are going to be looking at at the safety position opposite Kobe Bryant.
What are the stats and background of Dillon Thienemann?
And as much as I've covered literally every game of Dylan Thienemann's career. The two years he spent at Purdue, the one year he spent at Oregon. He is a Big Ten safety, so I've seen what he's done at a really high level. You go back to him being the Big Ten freshman of the year back in that season at Purdue. Ryan Walters was his head coach. And at that time, he had Dylan Thienemann playing as kind of a center fielder, like a deep safety. And that's where all those interceptions came back in his freshman season. three years ago. And year by year, his role continued to be tweaked and adjusted. Second season at Purdue, you know, sometime at strong safety, sometime in the box. Here at Oregon, this past season, he was utilized in that Dan Lanning defense, Tosla Poi's defensive coordinator, but it's Dan Lanning's defensive scheme that they were running.
And he was moving around quite a bit. He spent some time at the second level, spent some time deep defensively. did a lot more stem and disguise than we had seen at either point in his previous seasons of his college football career, and also a player that being only three years removed from high school, you can just tell he's learned more and more about the sport of football, more and more how to play defense at the major college level every year he's been doing it. I actually comp him with Kevin Bayard, the player who the Bears just moved on from because he's on the other side of 30. But no player in the National Football League has had more interceptions than Kevin Bayard during the time he's been here.
He was such a key cog in the Bears' success that they had last season. When you look at Dylan Thiedemann, he's six foot. He's over 200 pounds. He's versatile. He's a sure tackler. He's not the thumper that some of the other safeties in this draft cycle are, but he is a physical football player. He tackles with urgency, which I really like to see that. He will continue, I think, to get even more formidable with the way that he's able to run the alley and attack the line of scrimmage. So his style of play, not only does he have the awareness and sort of the field generalship that he showcased this past season in Eugene playing safety for the Ducks, but he's going to continue getting better defensively.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
Who did the Bears select with the 25th pick in the 2026 NFL Draft?
0:00–1:51
2
What are the stats and background of Dillon Thienemann?
1:51–7:36
3
How does Dillon Thienemann fit into the Bears' defensive strategy?
7:36–10:47
4
What are the reactions from analysts about Thienemann's selection?
10:47–13:26
5
What are the concerns regarding Thienemann's performance in coverage?
13:26–16:32
6
How does Thienemann's versatility benefit the Bears' secondary?
16:32–20:17
7
What are the implications of Thienemann's selection for the Bears' roster?
20:17–22:06
8
What are the listeners' reactions and opinions on the Thienemann pick?
22:06–54:51
Speakers
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