Bears Draft Dillon Thieneman, Shake Up Defense

0:00On April 24th, Chicago Bears just wrapped a magical 2025 season, hitting the playoffs for the first time in years under new coach Ben. Johnson, often clicked, landing top 15 in key stats, but defense stays shaky outside forcing 33 turnovers, best in the league. They said goodbye to starters like safety Kevin Byard, to Kwan Briskar, and corner Nishon Wright in free agency, plus release linebacker Tremaine, Edmunds, to save cap space. GM Ryan Poles plug some holes with safety. Kobe Bryant and linebacker Devin Bush, but heading into the 2026 draft at the 25th. Pick, eyes were on edge rushers, tackles or even left tackle after an injury. Instead, they grabbed Oregon's safety Dylan Thioneman in round 1, paring him with Bryant in Dennis Allen's scheme. Dude fills a big gap with Cam Lewis lacking starts. The NMN built his resume at Purdue as a true freshman with over 100 tackles and 6 picks

1:01than another 100 tackle year before. Transferring to Oregon for 96 stops, picks and sacks. Poles called it their most aggressive draft yet, zeroing in on perfect scheme fits with the Wright makeup, selective moves that thin the board but build, the exact team they need moving forward. This has been NFL News Today, powered by AI, I'm Corey with the story.