2026 NFL Draft: Chicago Bears complete their secondary with Dillon Thieneman

Bears Draft Live: Who will the Bears target in the 1st round?

Cassie Carlson, Anthony Herron and Tina Nguyen host Bears Draft Live on Fox Chicago. The crew gets you ready for Night 1 of the NFL Draft in Pittsburgh. Who will the Bears target in the 1st round? Anthony breaks down multiple draft prospects, and Tina is up at Halas Hall giving you the latest Bears intel from Lake Forest. Plus, special guests Jeff Joniak and Matt Forte joined the show!

The Chicago Bears have a brand new safety tandem.

After an offseason where Jaquan Brisker and Kevin Byard departed in free agency, the Bears added Coby Bryant as a prized free agent.

Now, they have drafted Bryant’s safety partner in the 2026 NFL Draft with the No. 25 overall pick.

What we know:

The Bears selected Oregon safety Dillon Thieneman with their first-round selection on Thursday.

This is a sign the Bears are adding top talent to the defensive side of the ball, one year after finding their offensive core in the 2025 NFL Draft.

The defense needed playmakers. The Bears are getting one to pair with Bryant. 

"He matches what he shows on film," Bears scout Breck Ackley said.

Bryant comes to Chicago after winning the Super Bowl in Seattle. Now, he'll have a chance to lead the Bears' secondary and mentor the next Bears' safety.

This is the first time the Bears have used a first-round pick on a safety for the first time since Mark Carrier in the 1990 NFL Draft. He's also the first defensive player selected in the first round by the Bears since Roquan Smith in 2018. 

Big picture view:

This selection will go in tandem with Bryant.

While Bryant is a ball-hawk safety, the Bears will be asking Thieneman to play closer to the line of scrimmage and attack offenses at the point of attack.

This was the role Brisker played in defensive coordinator Dennis Allen's defense. Now, a rookie will battle with Cam Lewis to have that role.

However, it's assumed Thieneman will be the Day One starter for the Bears at safety next to Bryant. 

The Bears took Thieneman due to his versatility. He's a safety who can play in the box, at the nickel and high in the backend. Here, Thieneman will play in the box.

Bryant is the Bears' new free safety. He'll mentor Thieneman. However, Thieneman is experienced. He might not have much room to grow physically, but at 6-foot and 206-pounds, he brings decent size.

He was a three-year starter in college, playing in 39 games. He had six interceptions as a true freshman in 2023. He transferred to Oregon after two years at Purdue, and was the starter for the College Football Playoff semifinal team.

The Bears like his versatility and plan to play him in a rover-type position sometimes, which is similar to a nickel cornerback position but one that patrols the box more and plays more near the line of scrimmage.

Ackley said the Bears' loved Thieneman's versatility. However, the Bears said multiple times this offseason they wanted to improve the defense's speed.

Theineman ran a 4.35 40-yard dash. That fits like a glove.

"That’s a guy going to win a ballgame for his team and rely on this instincts," Ackley said.