Plenty of people have offered their opinions on Dillon Thieneman since the Chicago Bears drafted the young safety 25th overall in April. Most have been complimentary, admiring his speed and intelligence. Yet they all say the same thing: he still has work to do. That is fair. Thieneman is a rookie, and safeties tend to need more time to mature than players at other positions. Yet perhaps the best person to ask in this situation is the one who’s given him the most trouble since training camp began. That is Colston Loveland.
The Bears’ star tight end wrecked shop all summer in camp. Nobody could cover him. Yet it was Thieneman who seemed to always be on the worst end of it. Loveland abused him. One would think the tight end has, if not a low opinion of the safety, then at least a modest one. So you might be surprised to hear Loveland is actually a bigger fan of Thieneman now than he was when camp started. People may have heard about the schooling sessions last month, but they haven’t seen the strides the rookie has made since.
“He’s always been on his stuff as far as (the) playbook. He’s got a great routine. I see him in there before practice in the weight room getting right. He does the same thing every single day. It’s obviously not a question. He’s going to be really good but out there on the field as well, I think it shows up. I got him a good amount of times early on but he was in position. It was just like late hands, whatever. And then kind of at the end of camp, (it’s) him starting making plays on the ball. It was cool to see. He’s a great player, super fast, physical. He’s grown so much throughout this camp. I’m excited to see him go out there on Sundays.”
Colston Loveland likely sees some of himself in Thieneman.
After all, he knows plenty about the value of hard work. It was ingrained into him at a young age, living on an Idaho ranch. Playing for Jim Harbaugh at Michigan only honed it further. So by the time he got to Chicago under Ben Johnson, anything the Bears asked of him was nothing new. It is probably why the team thought it such an easy decision to draft him. The same might’ve proven true with Thieneman. The safety is an athletic freak, sure. That always helps. Yet they’re on the lookout for football junkies—Guys who live and breathe the game.
From the moment the Bears met Thieneman at the scouting combine, they knew he fit the criteria. His knowledge of the game screamed somebody who’d watched many hours of film. His even-keeled personality on and off the field suggested a player who knew how to handle the highs and lows. That is why Colston Loveland dominating him in the first two weeks of camp had little impact beyond those specific plays. Thieneman kept getting up, grinding film, and coming back the next day. Before anybody knew it, he was giving the tight end tougher battles.
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This doesn’t feel like lip service.
If Loveland were just being nice to a teammate, you could tell. There are always certain buzzwords used. Usually, guys revert to stuff mentioned in the draft like speed, athleticism, etc. Instead, the tight end immediately went straight to Thieneman’s work ethic and grasp of the game. Nothing about the physical attributes. All about the preparation. That is the highest compliment you can pay any player, let alone a rookie. This, more than any other reason, is why Bears fans should be excited.
The hardest thing to do is find a player who checks two crucial boxes. They must be a blue-chip athlete and have an insatiable work ethic. Sadly, players often lean more into one or the other. They’re either a fantastic athlete with a solid, if uninspiring, work ethic, or a gym rat who spends many extra hours honing their craft but lacks the natural talent to take full advantage. Thieneman has both.
