Chicago Bears Earn Elite Draft Grade for Dillon Thieneman Pick at No. 25

The early 2026 NFL Draft grades are in, and Ryan Poles and the Chicago Bears are already emerging as one of the biggest winners of Round 1 with their pick of Dillon Thieneman.

The selection of Thieneman at No. 25 overall isn’t just earning praise; it’s drawing elite-level reviews across the league.

That includes a glowing evaluation from Pro Football Focus, where analyst Ben Linsey labeled the pick an elite outcome for Chicago.

“Thieneman didn’t often make it to Chicago in mock drafts, but the Bears will certainly be happy he was available here,” Linsey wrote. “Thieneman earned 89.0-plus PFF grades on multiple defenses — 2023 with Purdue and 2025 with Oregon — and can cover, defend the run and bring high-end athleticism. Given that the Bears came into this draft with a clear need at safety, this is an ideal scenario for Dennis Allen’s defense.”

Bears Capitalize on Unexpected Draft-Day Slide

The Chicago Bears entered the 2026 NFL Draft with multiple roster holes, but safety stood out as one of the most urgent. Throughout the pre-draft process, both Thieneman and Toledo standout Emmanuel McNeil-Warren were widely projected to come off the board before Chicago’s pick at No. 25.

When that didn’t happen, the entire board shifted.

For months, the expectation centered on an edge rusher as the Bears’ most logical Round 1 target. And while that position remains firmly in play heading into Day 2, Dillon Thieneman’s unexpected availability forced a pivot, and a smart one.

This wasn’t just a need-based pick by the Chicago Bears. It was a value play, too.

Why Dillon Thieneman Was a No-Brainer Pick at No. 25

Even in a league that typically devalues safeties in the first round, Thieneman breaks the mold. His range, physicality, and alignment flexibility give defensive coordinator Dennis Allen a true chess piece: someone who can disguise coverages, close downhill in run support, and erase space in the deep middle.

Poles made it clear after the pick that this wasn’t a conventional safety evaluation.

“Dillon’s tape popped out,” Poles said. “The sense of urgency that he plays with, the play speed … his ability to close on the football, both in the run and the pass stood out really, really quick. The guy’s obsessed with football. He’s extremely fast, a great leader, violent in the way that he plays the game — everything that we’re looking for.”

That combination of production, athleticism, and football character is why this pick is grading out so well across the board.

And more importantly, it’s why Thieneman has a real chance to become one of the defining selections of the Chicago Bears’ 2026 draft class.