It was an unusual wait in the first round to see who the Chicago Bears would select with the No. 25 overall pick. Chicago didn’t trade up or trade back. Instead, they stood still and waited to see how the board would fall, and they landed a stud in Oregon safely Dillon Thieneman.
After moving off of Jaquan Brisker and Kevin Byard, Chicago now has a new duo in the secondary with Thieneman and free-agent addition Coby Bryant.
General manager Ryan Poles reiterated that the Bears would select the best available player with their first pick. Tackles like Kadyn Proctor and Monroe Freeling went in the middle rounds, Akheem Mesidor went three spots ahead of the Bears, and although players like Caleb Lomu and Zion Young were available, Thieneman was the pick.
Thieneman met formally with the Bears, and with his 4.35 speed, coming off a 95-tackle season with five pass breakups, 3.5 tackles for loss, he brings versatility and toughness, a high IQ style of play, and can play all over the field.
Thieneman will fit perfectly alongside Bryant, and all of a sudden, Chicago’s back-end secondary is set for the foreseeable future. And now defensive coordinator Dennis Allen has a Tyron Mathieu-like hybrid safety to coach with speed and good against the run and pass.
And more importantly, a playmaker who can be a week 1 starter, making an immediate impact.
This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears draft Dillon Thieneman: Instant analysis of Chicago's pick
