The Chicago Bears were excited when they knew they were landing Dillon Thieneman in the 2026 draft. They felt the Oregon standout was a safety of rare caliber in the NFL. He had good size to go along with elite athleticism. Add his almost obsessive work ethic, and you had the makings of a front-line starter on this defense. Thieneman hasn’t disappointed. While he hasn’t made a ton of game-changing plays, the rookie leads the team with 57 tackles and is also tied for the lead with 1 interception and 5 passes defended.
What nobody has talked about is how he’s doing this despite Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen putting a ton on his plate. Remember, Thieneman is a rookie. You would think that a team would be careful about how they use him, trying to keep things as simple as possible. Not Allen. Katie Langan delivered some startling numbers on the Hoge & Jahns podcast that help illustrate what Thieneman has been juggling. Aside from 294 snaps at safety, he’s logged 49 at linebacker, 22 in the slot, 23 on the edge, and even 11 at outside cornerback.
When they call a player a defensive chess piece, this is what they mean.
Dillon Thieneman showcased this ability during the Tampa game.
Other teammates like Jeffery Simmons and Devin Bush got most of the attention in that Bears win for understandable reasons. However, Thieneman quietly did some really impressive things. One of those reps at outside corner occurred in this game. Late in the 1st quarter, Thieneman was lined up outside against tight end Cade Otton on 4th and 2. Tampa Bay brought him in motion to the slot with the rookie trailing him. The intention was to use wide receiver Chris Godwin as a buffer to give Otton enough space to catch a quick throw from Baker Mayfield.
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Despite this, Dillon Thieneman reads the play perfectly and is right on top of Otton, who has to make a tough catch. The play is close. While the Bucs do convert for a 1st down, it’s still a great rep by the rookie.
It didn’t stop there.
Three plays later, the Bucs had 3rd and 3 at the Bears’ 3-yard line. There was no room for mistakes. It was at this moment that Thieneman shifted to linebacker, directing traffic ahead of the snap. He pushed Kyler Gordon to the outside and then blitzed up the middle, plugging a gap that Tampa Bay had likely intended to run through. This forced running back Kenneth Gainwell to bounce outside to his left, providing Bush, who’d broken through the line, the chance to chase him down for a loss of 1 yard. A play later, Tampa had a delay-of-game penalty, forcing them to settle for a field goal.
This is what it means to do the dirty work. Thieneman didn’t make any impact plays in this game, but his presence was felt multiple times. He made everything the Buccaneers tried to do a little bit harder. There were no freebies for them on offense. The rookie’s ability to cover so much ground and wear many different hats is a reason for this. Things like this don’t show up on the stat sheet, but it’s a reminder of just how good of a draft pick he is turning out to be. How bad would the Bears’ secondary be without him?
That isn’t a question you want answered.
It feels like Allen is doing this less out of desire and more out of necessity. Not having Coby Bryant available all season has forced the Bears’ defensive coordinator to get creative with his alignments. It’s put the rookie into situations many would’ve understandably struggled with. For him to still be playing competent football tells you how gifted Thieneman is, and how much better he may soon become.
