Dillon Thieneman was a slam dunk first-round pick. The fit was there, it was an obvious need, and the player was the best left on the board. However, with that is going to come high expectations immediately out of the gate. Genarro Filice of NFL Network listed the 12 rookies who are going to have pressure to perform right away, and Thieneman made the cut.
The Chicago Bears need Dillon Thieneman to start as a rookie
The Bears have been easy with putting too much on the plate of the rookie so far, but it is just OTAs. Still, it was notable that Thieneman was not with the first team as early as the first practice. He will get there eventually, but for now, the team has Elijah Hicks in the role.
Hicks is a former seventh-round pick who has been with the team for five years. He has stuck around so long because of his special teams prowess and has 15 starts in his first four seasons. The Bears are not looking at him as a starter, but rather as an offseason placeholder until Thieneman is ready. Hicks is much more familiar with the playbook at this point.
However, when Thieneman gets to know where to go and what to do, his potential is much higher than what Hicks can bring. More than that, his potential is higher than Jaquan Brisker's or Kevin Byard's.
The Bears moved on from Byard and Brisker to sign Coby Bryant and draft Thieneman. They invested heavily in both, giving Bryant the total of their contracts, and drafting Thieneman in the first round. The team is expecting a significant improvement to the room in 2026. Rookie safeties tend to hit the ground running, so that can be a fair thought for the coaching staff.
Byard is much older than Thieneman, so the long-term impact can justify the selection. However, Brisker is young and, at his best, was a quality safety. Still, Thieneman not only brings a higher ceiling, but he also brings more durability, which is what Brisker lacked in his final years with the team.
If Thieneman is even close to Brisker in year one, which is conceivable, the long-term potential makes the upgrade easy to see. If not, the team will be questioned for moving on from two capable starters to spend big on players that did not provide a major upgrade.
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