Dillon Thieneman

● Versatile athlete who can make an impact from the backend, near the box or as a nickel ● Sees things quickly and attacks without hesitation ● Has ability to stay in phase and position himself in coverage to contest windows ● Sorts through route movements quickly to match, redirect and close space ● Good hands and hand-eye coordination to finish interceptions ● Closes quickly in the run game when he hits his stride ● Feel for navigating around traffic to find the ball carrier ● Can set your watch by his tackle production (seven-plus tackles in 29 of 39 career starts) ● Reliable football character; game captain four times in 2025 ● Developed toughness and maturity as the youngest of three boys ● Played on punt coverages all three years in college and was often the first man down the field

● Adequate size, with a muscular frame, but appears maxed out physically ● Mediocre burst and hip turn when covering downfield corners/posts ● Better stride acceleration than initial twitch when covering crossers ● Arrives hot as a tackler, which leads to inconsistent angles from depth ● Gets in trouble when he plants and catches contact instead of driving through as a tackler (see 2025 Indiana tape)

A one-year starter at Oregon (and three-year starter overall), Thieneman was a hybrid safety in former defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi’s scheme and wore a variety of hats (deep middle, robber, nickel etc.). A productive post safety at Purdue for two seasons, he transferred to Eugene for his junior season and earned a 2025 All-America nod for the Ducks, with both of his interceptions clinching 576 Back to table of contents -- 580 of 629 -- victories late in a game (Penn State and Washington). He collected more than 300 combined tackles in three college seasons and averaged 7.9 tackles per start. With his open-field athleticism, Thieneman has a lot to offer in the NFL because of his versatility making plays over the top in coverage or downhill versus the run. He shows impressive range and anticipation from the deep half of the field, as well as the intelligence to understand what opponents are trying to do. Although he doesn’t always play up to his testing numbers, he can guard both sidelines and sort through routes. He can clean up some things in the run game, too — he has a nose for the ball and doesn’t hesitate flying to the contact point. Overall, Thieneman reminds me of Justin Reid because of his scheme-friendly recognition skills and eagerness to get busy as a run defender. He projects as a durable NFL starter and has versatility that should appeal to a variety of defensive structures.