Shortly after being selected by the Bears with the 25th pick in the first round, safety Dillon Thieneman spoke to the Chicago media virtually from the draft in Pittsburgh. Here are five things we learned from that session:
(1) Thieneman's goal entering the NFL Combine was to run a sub-4.4 in the 40-yard dash and the Oregon product accomplished that with a blazing 4.35.
"To go out and do that kind of surpassed even my expectations to that point," Thieneman said. "I knew in my heart I was going to get a [sub-4.4], but I didn't know exactly what it would be."
The Indiana native revealed that he has "always been fast," adding: "I feel like it's really picked up being in college. I know my brothers will joke I used to race down the driveway all the time, racing them or racing the car on the way home from school."
Thieneman is able to play to his timed speed in part due to his preparation. An avid film watcher and note taker, he maintains two notebooks—one for general information and the other for scouting opponents.
"I feel like speed is very interesting because there's normal speed and then there's game-play speed," Thieneman said. "The more you can process and recognize, the faster you can play in game closer to your speed."
(2) After lining up primarily at free safety in two seasons at Purdue, Thieneman honed his versatility by playing different positions last year at Oregon.
"At Purdue, I played mostly in the post," he said. "In Oregon's defense, you're asked to do a little bit of everything. I'm rolling down in the box, I'm rotating, different cover threes. I'm playing half, quarters. I got really comfortable playing a lot of different coverages and different positions.
"Really good playing field and then I could play boundaries. And then I cross-trained nickel in the offseason, too, so I felt pretty comfortable moving between all those positions because I knew everything on the back end."
(3) Thieneman feels that his experience transferring to Oregon will help him transition into the NFL.
"I feel like making the leap to Oregon was kind of preparing me for the next level already; going to a new place, new coaches, new scheme, new environment," he said. "So, I'm kind of used to that change and how to make it and what works for me and what doesn't. I'm able to grow from that last experience and hit the ground running."
Thieneman was not surprised to be drafted by the Bears.
"At the combine, I had a formal [interview] with them that went really well," he said. "I feel I really connected with all the guys there. I hadn't talked to them too much [recently], but I knew that they had a lot of interest in me."
(4) Thieneman has tried to emulate former NFL star safety Troy Polamalu.
Asked what drew him to the Hall of Famer's game, Thieneman said: "Really his versatility. I liked watching some of his interviews. If he knew where the ball was going, he would go switch positions with that player so he could be in on the play, so he could have an impact for the team. Just having the knowledge of the defense, but also the understanding of what the offense is trying to do."
(5) Thieneman's signature play last season was an interception that clinched a 30-24 double-overtime victory at Penn State.
"That moment I think was incredible," said Thieneman, who dropped in coverage and made a leaping catch that silenced the crowd. "To seal the game like that was amazing and just do it for the team. We'd been talking about that same play from a defensive aspect, the play call and then that offensive formation. We repped both those together in practice. For it to show up in the game just how the coaches predicted was amazing."
