The Chicago Bears spent a first round pick on Dillon Thieneman because they believed the rookie safety could make plays all over the field. Three weeks into his NFL career, he is already showing them exactly why.
Thieneman’s first career interception came Monday night against the Philadelphia Eagles, but the pick was only part of what made the sequence so impressive. Moments earlier, Saquon Barkley had broken loose toward the goal line. Thieneman chased him down and helped keep the Eagles from turning the run into a touchdown.
Then, with Philadelphia still sitting near the goal line, Thieneman helped stuff Barkley again. On the next play, he read Andy Dalton‘s eyes, stepped in front of Dontayvion Wicks and intercepted the veteran quarterback in the end zone.
Three plays. Three impact moments from a rookie safety. And that’s starting to look less like a promising debut and more like the player Chicago thought it was getting when it made Thieneman the No. 25 overall pick.
Thieneman keeps finding the football
“They had schemed it up pretty good,” Eagles QB Andy Dalton said. “I obviously didn’t see the safety in the middle, and he just read my eyes.”
That’s exactly the type of play the Chicago Bears hoped Dillon Thieneman would make.
Chicago’s front office repeatedly pointed to his ability to close on the football when explaining the decision to draft him. General manager Ryan Poles said Thieneman’s “sense of urgency,” play speed and ability to close in both the running and passing games stood out immediately during the evaluation process.
The physical traits were obvious. Thieneman ran a 4.35 second 40 yard dash at the NFL Combine and entered the league after recording 306 tackles and eight interceptions in college. The interesting part is how quickly those traits have translated.
Thieneman had 10 tackles and a pass breakup in his NFL debut against Carolina. He followed that with seven tackles and another pass breakup against Minnesota. Then he led Chicago with six tackles against Philadelphia while adding the interception.
That’s 23 tackles and three pass defenses through three games, along with his first NFL interception.
Chicago may have found exactly what it needed
The Chicago Bears knew they were taking a chance on a safety with a first round pick. They also knew exactly what they wanted from him.
Chicago had lost both Kevin Byard and Jaquan Brisker during the offseason and needed to rebuild the safety room. The Bears signed Coby Bryant in free agency before using their first round pick on Dillon Thieneman, giving defensive coordinator Dennis Allen two safeties capable of moving around the formation.
Ben Johnson also saw something unusual in him. After the draft, the Bears head coach said it was rare to watch a safety and immediately think that opposing offenses would have to account for him. Johnson said Thieneman was “always around the football,” praised his tackling and said he expected him to be the type of safety coordinators would have to plan for.
The Bears badly needed him to step up after the Bryant injury and he has done exactly that and more.
The bigger question now is how much more the Bears can get from him as he becomes more comfortable in Dennis Allen’s defense. If the rookie keeps making plays this early, Chicago may have found one of the most important pieces for the future.
Dillon Thieneman Is Becoming Everything the Bears Wanted (And More)