The Chicago Bears got some secondary help, selecting Oregon safety Dillon Thieneman with the No. 25 pick in the NFL draft on Thursday night.
The Bears hadn’t drafted a safety in the first round since 1990, when they took Marc Carrier with the No. 6 pick out of USC. He is the first defensive player taken in the first round by Chicago since linebacker Roquan Smith in 2018.
Chicago also lost its top four safeties, including three-time All-Pro Kevin Byard and Jaquan Brisker. The Bears signed Coby Bryant, who helped Seattle win its second Super Bowl, to a three-year, $40 million contract, but still had an opening at that position.
Thieneman was first-team All-Big Ten in his lone season at Oregon with 95 tackles and two interceptions. He played two years at Purdue and was honorable mention all-conference in 2024.
Chicago also has two second-rounders, a third-rounder, a fourth-rounder and two seventh-rounders.
Thieneman joins a team trying to build on a breakthrough year.
The Bears went 11-6 and captured the NFC North championship for the first time since 2018 in coach Ben Johnson’s first season. Quarterback Caleb Williams, the No. 1 pick in 2024, made big strides in his second year. Chicago advanced in the playoffs for the first time since the 2010 season, beating the rival Green Bay Packers in a wild-card game before losing an overtime thriller to the Los Angeles Rams in the divisional round.
