Part of being successful as an NFL scout is knowing how to track young prospects long before they become starters in college. General manager Ryan Poles always talks about keeping an eye on two or three years down the line for the NFL draft. It is the same thing for Chicago Bears scouts. They can’t just focus on juniors and seniors. It falls on them to also take careful note of incoming freshmen who might be worth keeping an eye on down the line. Apparently, that is what happened with Dillon Thieneman.
Back in 2023, Bears scout Francis St. Paul went to the Purdue University campus to get a look at some of the program’s senior players. Among them were running back Tyrone Tracy and defensive back Sanoussi Kane. However, every time St. Paul asked coaches and others in the building about the seniors, they would immediately bring up a freshman kid they promised would be a big deal in a couple of years. That was Thieneman. The safety had six interceptions that season and eventually became a top prospect at Oregon.
St. Paul recounted the story on 1920 Football Drive.
Dillon Thieneman represents a growing Bears draft strategy.
The video also mentioned that Bears scouts noticed similar things were said about Colston Loveland and Kyle Monangai. Both were “dudes” in the program the moment they arrived, even if they didn’t get immediate playing time. Coaches knew it was only a matter of time before they became major factors. It seems as if the Bears are steadily building their draft strategy around seeking out these types of stories and targeting those players. It certainly worked out great with Loveland and Monangai. Early signs are glowing for Thieneman.
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This isn’t a terrible strategy. Players who had great freshman seasons in college often go on to have productive NFL careers. Adrian Peterson, Jonathan Taylor, Brock Bowers, Luke Kuechly, Julius Peppers, Dexter Lawrence, and A.J. Green are some notable examples of freshmen phenoms. Like everything else in draft evaluation, it isn’t a perfect science. Johnny Manziel was amazing as a freshman, too. That said, the trend is pretty consistent, and the Bears are leaning into it.
It is great how aligned the process is.
Seeing Bears scouts communicate so openly about what made Dillon Thieneman so attractive as a prospect shows that everybody is on the same page. They recognized immediately that the Oregon safety was precisely the type of player Poles and head coach Ben Johnson would covet. He’s smart, athletic, and highly competitive. His calm command when watching game film made it obvious he studies relentlessly. Nothing escapes his notice, which is why he acts like a coach on the field.
Nobody can argue that the Bears erred in their evaluation process. They did their homework. This wasn’t a last-second decision by the team. They’d been steadily gathering information on Thieneman for years. No corners were cut. They watched the tape, did the private meetings, and asked around about him as a person and teammate. All results came back glowing. The only thing left to do was turn in the card on draft night. If the safety doesn’t pan out, it won’t be because the Bears missed something.
