Bears Pulled Off Biggest Round 1 Heist With Dillon Thieneman Pick

We might look back on the Chicago Bears' selection of Dillon Thieneman in the 2026 NFL Draft one day and consider it the biggest steal of Round 1.

Oregon Ducks defensive back Dillon Thieneman. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Chicago Bears absolutely crushed their first-round pick of Oregon safety Dillon Thieneman in the 2026 NFL Draft.

Sure, he might not have been the edge rusher many Bears fans were rightly yearning for, but the Oregon product was still great value in the spot that the Bears got him and, in our opinoin, was the best player available on the board at No. 25.

Thieneman was a fringe first-round draft pick, at best, going into the meat of the pre-draft process but started to ascend when he flashed his elite athleticism at the NFL Scouting Combine.

Thieneman turned heads with a 4.35 40-yard dash and there were no longer any doubts about him being the total package at safety.

Thieneman at 25 is great value

Oregon Ducks defensive back Dillon Thieneman. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Daniel Jeremiah of NFL Network dropped this bomb earlier this month that shocked a lot of people: some teams had Thieneman graded higher than Caleb Downs, who was widely viewed as one of the very best players in the entire draft, regardless of position.

"I'll tell you for a fact, I know some teams have it that way," he said of Thieneman being graded higher than Downs. "I don't... I'm telling you some teams have it that way."

Jeremiah went on to suggest that, like Downs, Thieneman could go as high as the nine to 12 range. Downs ultimately went at No. 11 to the Dallas Cowboys, who traded up for him.

So, that means the Bears got someone who, at the very least, was graded closely to Downs by many teams yet went 14 picks later. That's what we call immense value, folks.

And the Bears might have been of the same or similar opinion on Thieneman and Downs. As the Oregon product pointed out after he was drafted, the Bears barely talked to him after a formal visit, which could mean Chicago didn't expect him to be there at 25.

"I had a formal (visit) with (the Bears) that went really well. ... I didn't talk to them much but I knew they had interest in me," Thieneman said.

Addressing a major need

Oregon Ducks defensive back Dillon Thieneman. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Bears entered the draft with safety being one of the bigger question marks on defense. Chicago add Coby Bryant in free agency, but they also lost Kevin Byard and Jaquan Brisker.

Thieneman gives the Bears the starter next to Bryant that they needed. Thieneman is capable of playing multiple positions, including box or free safety and slot cornerback, so he also provides some insurance for Kyler Gordon in the event the cornerback struggles with injury once again.

That said, Thieneman will probably wind up in the box more often than not with the vast majority of Bryant's experience coming at free safety.