Even with highly ranked players available at premium positions when the Bears chose at No. 25 in the first round of the NFL Draft on Thursday, general manager Ryan Poles took Oregon safety Dillon Thieneman.
It was a logical choice in the sense that the Bears had a vacancy at safety alongside free-agent pickup Coby Bryant, but it was surprising that they would double up on sizable investments at that position and bypass the chance to capitalize at offensive tackle, defensive tackle or defensive end.
While there was an early run on offensive tackles, with the top six off the board before the Bears’ pick, that frenzy helped shift some compelling options to the Bears on the defensive line. Auburn’s Keldric Faulk, who went 31st to the Titans, and Missouri standout Zion Young were still there among pass rushers. Clemson defensive tackle Peter Woods went 29th to the Chiefs.
“[Thieneman] was standing out and elevated on the board, so we work laterally and see who else is up there, and [he] was No. 1 on our priority list,” Poles said.
“This was a really cool opportunity where a need and the best player available fell the way that we needed it to.”
The Bears went into the draft believing there was a decent chance Thieneman wouldn’t be available at No. 25. Poles said most projections had him going 18th to the Vikings. If he made it past that, the Bears thought they had a good chance at him and were interested in trading back a few spots, still thinking they’d land him. But Poles said there wasn’t much demand from the teams behind them.
“Violent speed” seemed to be the trait that swayed Poles to Thieneman rather than one of the premium positions where the Bears need help.
“Anytime we’ve seen [an opposing] defense and you feel like it’s suffocating because of their speed, that’s what we’re trying to do,” Poles said.
Thieneman might become a star, as he did at Oregon, but that isn’t the issue. The Bears’ biggest flaws defensively last season were their struggling pass rush and inability to stop the run. Picking a safety in the first round doesn’t help as much on those fronts as a powerhouse defensive lineman.
“As far as the safety compared to the D-ends compared to the tackles is concerned, we rank them as football players regardless of position,” director of college scouting Breck Ackley said. “We don’t overthink that part on the scouting side. When it gets down to [comparing positional needs], that’s Poles’ main job.”
The pass rush continues to be a red flag. Since Poles took over, the Bears have had the second-fewest sacks in the NFL, including finishing 22nd last season with 35. He has tried, repeatedly, but various moves haven’t gone as planned.
His biggest move was trading a second-round pick for Montez Sweat in 2023, then extending him on a four-year, $98 million contract. But Sweat hasn’t been quite the force the Bears have needed, and they haven’t found him a running mate, either.
“There’s some opportunity with guys on the board still,” Poles said of the Bears’ second-round picks at Nos. 57 and 60 overall Friday.
Defensive end is a tough position to address once it gets that late in the draft, as opposed to safety, where coveted prospects often last into the second or third round. The Bears also have a third-round pick Friday at No. 89.
The Bears have built what appears to be an impressive secondary with Jaylon Johnson as a shutdown cornerback on the outside, nickel cornerback Kyler Gordon a versatile threat underneath and Bryant and Thieneman on the back end. But that isn’t going to do them much good if they can’t get into the backfield and pressure the quarterback into bad decisions.
