Bears 1st-round pick Dillion Thieneman heads toward training camp with much to learn, earn

There was no doubt when the Bears drafted Dillon Thieneman in the first round at No. 25 overall that he’d be their starting safety alongside veteran Coby Bryant. Nonetheless, the team is still going to make him claw his way into that job.

Thieneman got some first-team snaps in practices between Organized Team Activities and minicamp, which wrapped Thursday, but spent some time with the backups as well.

“It just comes with being in this sport,” he said. “You’ve got to work to earn your job and you’ve got to work to keep your job. There’s always going to be someone coming up, someone trying to replace you or someone trying to keep their job, so you’ve got to fight every day.”

The offseason training program gave Thieneman a chance to begin learning coordinator Dennis Allen’s offense and get used to the size, speed and precision of NFL offenses. He was preoccupied with getting a grasp of all that rather than where he stood on the depth chart.

There will be a time to be concerned with pecking order, though, and it’s fairly soon. Thieneman has about six weeks to practice and study before training camp begins late next month, and that’s when competition for jobs will get serious.

He’ll certainly get a push from veteran backup Elijah Hicks, who has been a favorite of the Bears since making the team in 2022 as a seventh-round pick, and free-agent pickup Cam Lewis, who played 76 games for the Bills over six seasons.

As talented as Thieneman is, those players have a head start because of their experience, though he was confident he’d catch up.

“I’m acclimating well,” he said. “I’ve kind of gone through this process before … so I know what works and what doesn’t work for me.”

It was on a smaller scale, but Thieneman transferred from Purdue to Oregon last year and had to adapt to new scheme, and that went well enough for him to earn an All-American selection and turn into a first-round prospect.