It was evident Friday at Halas Hall that football and family are both extremely important to new Bears safety Dillon Thieneman.

The first-round pick's parents, two brothers and sister traveled with him from the draft in Pittsburgh to Chicago to attend his introductory press conference.

Thieneman told reporters that his passion for football began at a young age and has been fueled by his immediate family ever since.

"It starts with that little kid, that 4-year-old me looking at that TV being like, 'Hey, that's going to be me up there,'" Thieneman said. "But then it goes into seeing my family, my brothers [play football], seeing my parents and how they work in their businesses. Watching my brothers out there on the field, wanting to be out there with them. And then I'm someone that if I really love something, I'm going to put all my energy, all my work into it."

Thieneman's brothers—Jake, now 30, and Brennan, 28—both played safety at Purdue. Learning the nuances of the game from them, Dillon eventually followed in their footsteps, lining up at the same position with the Boilermakers in 2023-24 before transferring to Oregon in 2025.

"It definitely helped me," Dillon said. "They were a good amount of years older than me, so to see what they were doing, they were kind of teaching it, applying it to me so I got it at a much younger age than other people would have gotten it or that they got it. I feel like that just sped up my development."

Good vibes

Thieneman sensed a connection with Bears brass during a formal meeting at the NFL Combine.

"I felt like there was a lot of positive energy going around," he said. "It felt easy. It was great to talk to the team. They had a lot of guys in there and then me sitting in the one chair. They were asking some background questions, watching some film and had me get on the whiteboard a bit."

Thieneman obviously wasn't sure which team was going to draft him, but he wasn't surprised that the Bears chose him at No. 25.

"We had ideas of where I might go," he said. "But in the moment, I kind of just stayed calm and prayed I'd go to the right spot—and I think this was the right spot. Into the process, we talked at the combine. They showed their interest. I heard a lot from them through other people. And then it all worked out in the end."

The last 24 hours have been a whirlwind for Thieneman.

"It's been a great experience," he said, "a lot of moving around, being in Pittsburgh and going to different events, the red carpet, the green room and coming out here. But it's been incredible. I'm happy to be here."

No sugarcoating

The hard coaching that Thieneman will receive from coach Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Dennis Allen will be similar to what he experienced last year at Oregon from coach Dan Lanning and defensive coordinator Chris Hampton.

"In the recruiting process out of high school and transferring college, it's more like the player picks, so a lot of people are sugarcoating it or trying to talk you up," Thieneman said. "Talking with 'Hamp,' talking with Lanning, they didn't sugarcoat anything. They told me, 'We think you're a good player. This is what you need to work on. This is how we can get you better. This is how we developed guys in the past.' And to see those examples and see how they had a plan for me made it a very easy decision."

Thieneman feels that playing a hybrid rover role in the Oregon secondary helped prepare him for the NFL.

"That position really allows you to play fast," he said. "You can be aggressive in the run game because just the distance I'm off the line of scrimmage. I'm the extra unblocked defender. And then the pass game, playing that rover role, you're playing the middle of the field. You're what the offense most likely wants to target a lot of times. That just allowed me a lot of opportunities to get around the ball, get more experience, and just think about what the offense is showing me in their formations or situations and what they're trying to attack."