By the time the Chicago Bears were on the clock at pick no. 25 overall in the 2026 NFL Draft, every fan had to be thinking the exact same thing.
There was no way Ryan Poles could screw it up. The stars aligned in a manner absolutely no Bears fan saw coming.
And then ... Poles did exactly what every Bears fan wanted him to do in that moment.
The Bears drafted safety Dillon Thieneman out of Oregon.
This was a move nobody saw coming. In fact, in almost every single mock draft, prospect rankings and formal big board created over the past couple of months, Thieneman was not lasting this long.
Until he did.
The Chicago Bears may have gotten the steal of the draft in Dillon Thieneman
At one point, Bears fans probably thought the team was going to wind up with someone like Kayden McDonald, Peter Woods or maybe even Zion Young at this spot.
And, to be quite honest, I think many fans would have been just fine with those picks.
Even the other available safety, Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, would have been a strong selection. But Thieneman?
No one had him lasting this long. It was truly a dream scenario.
Even our very own Mike Luciano, here at FanSided, had Thieneman as his no. 18 overall player.
What makes Thieneman such a fun fit in Chicago, going forward, is the fact that Dennis Allen can deploy him in a variety of ways. Training camp will be a blast to watch both he and Coby Bryant go to work together as what should be an elite pairing back in the secondary.
Thieneman is incredibly fast. He's an aggressive player. He can truly line up as the Bears' "chameleon" as Luciano called him. The fact that he's had experience playing at linebacker, high safety and nickel gives the Bears someone this fan base can genuinely get excited about.
Dennis Allen is a guru with his defensive backs and Poles just gave him a legitimate Swiss Army knife with top-tier speed for the position, an ability to make plays in the back field and also generate turnovers.
Thieneman ended his college career with 14 pass breakups, 10 tackles for loss, eight interceptions and a pair of forced fumbles along with a 2025 PFF coverage grade of 90.5.
Did I already say "steal?"
What a pick, Mr. Poles.