2026 NFL Draft: Dillon Thieneman is a versatile and intelligent safety

· Yahoo Sports

IOWA CITY, IA - NOVEMBER 08: Dillon Thieneman #31 of the Oregon Ducks pursues a play on defense during a college football game against the Iowa Hawkeyes on November 08, 2025 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

On her latest Making Monsters podcast, Taylor Doll is joined by Jon Helmkamp, who covers both the NFL Draft and the Buffalo Bills, but is also a big Oregon Ducks fan.

Before getting into the top Ducks who are available in the draft, they start out discussing the newest Bears safety, Cam Lewis, his role in Buffalo, and how he’ll fit on Chicago’s defense.

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There are several Oregon prospects, including safety Dillon Thieneman, guard Emmanuel Pregnon, and linebacker Bryce Boettcher, but Thieneman has been a very popular player mocked to the Bears.

Thieneman (6’, 201) started his career at Purdue (2023 & 2024) and finished up in 2025 at Oregon. He was a Third Team All-American and the Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2023, and a First Team All-American in 2025.

“Oregon’s defense likes to play more of a split safety type defense,” Helmkamp said. “They’re not like a single high type of role, but at Purdue, he played single high. So, he’s shown the ability to play a variety of different alignments from the safety position, which is something that I think NFL teams are going to love.”

If the Bears are looking for a safety to pair with Coby Bryant, the versatile Thieneman makes a lot of sense.

“He has elite closing speed,” Helmkamp continued. “He could play down close to the line of scrimmage. He can muck it up in the run game. What you see time and time again when you put on the tape of the Oregon defense is Dillon Thieneman is the one that is identifying what’s going on on the offense and getting other people lined up. Like he knows what’s happening. His film study is great. He looks for the trends. He sees what’s going on.”

Recent mocks have him coming off the board before the Bears come up in the first round, but if he falls, would you like Thieneman if he were available at 25?

Give Taylor’s full show a listen in either of the embeds below!

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Here’s Taylor’s full schedule for her NFL Draft series.

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