Dillon
Thieneman.
Dillon
Thieneman.
Oregon· 6'0"· 201 lb· 4.35s 40
"Downhill enforcer with rare ball production — freshman All-American at Purdue and Oregon's alley-closer in 2025, with 4.35 combine speed erasing every deep-range concern."Pre-draft read
Plays fast and downhill, reading QB eyes from a two-high shell and triggering instantly. Closes the alley on inside runs with violent, form-tackle finishes through the ball-carrier's chest. Diagnoses crossers and switch-verticals from the middle of the field, high-pointing the football with corner-caliber tracking.
Rotates into robber and Cover-3 with easy hips. His click-and-close on shallow throws shines, trading depth for arrival velocity. Angles to the sideline are patient, taking away the crease before uncoiling into contact. His backpedal stays compact, footwork is efficient laterally, and hands attack the football at the catch point.
Thieneman projects to a two-high quarters or Cover-3 match scheme, leveraging his exceptional diagnostic skills and closing speed from depth.
He can immediately contribute as a starting split-safety in a zone-heavy scheme, with the ceiling to be an All-Pro playmaker.
He would struggle as a primary man-coverage safety tasked with routinely covering tight ends or bigger slot receivers in a press-man system.
A highly instinctive and athletic safety, Thieneman's ability to read quarterbacks and break on the ball makes him a valuable asset in schemes that prioritize zone coverage and allow him to play downhill.
Dillon Thieneman | 2025 Oregon Highlights
Full-season Oregon cutup showing Thieneman's trigger, alley finishing and ball production in 2025.
Dillon Thieneman is a STUD — Film Breakdown
All-22 film session breaking down his eye discipline, coverage instincts and open-field tackling.
Dillon Thieneman All-22 Highlights
Condensed All-22 reel highlighting interceptions and click-and-close range.
Thieneman projects as an ascending starter at safety, offering rare instincts combined with verified NFL athletic traits. He consistently demonstrates the ability to read and react quickly from depth, making him a valuable asset in schemes that prioritize downhill run defense and disruption of intermediate passing lanes. His 4.35 forty time and 41-inch vertical confirm the explosiveness seen on tape.
He emerged as a true freshman, posting a standout season at Purdue with 104 tackles and six interceptions. After a quieter 2024, a transfer to Oregon saw him anchor the Ducks' secondary, earning second-team all-conference honors with 82 stops and three takeaways. His usage across multiple schemes at both Purdue and Oregon showcases his adaptability, from single-high to split-safety looks.
Scouts raised questions about his single-high range and recovery speed prior to the combine due to his 6-0, 201-pound frame and 31 1/2-inch arms. However, his strong athletic testing in Indianapolis alleviated these concerns, solidifying his projection as a top-25 grade. Despite his occasional over-aggression, his overall body of work and physical tools position him as a high-upside selection.
- 01
Rare ball production
6 interceptions as a true freshman at Purdue plus three more takeaways at Oregon show a nose for the football, not just splash on tape.
- 02
Elite trigger and diagnosis
reads route stems and quarterback eyes from depth, breaking on the throw before receivers finish stems and beating angles most safeties can only chase.
- 03
Verified explosive athlete
4.35 forty, 41-inch vertical and 10-foot-5 broad in Indianapolis erase the recovery-speed concerns that dogged the 2024 evaluation.
- 04
Enforcer finisher
hunts the ball-carrier's chest with a compact, wrap-and-drive strike, generating stops in the alley and knocking down would-be third-down completions.
- 05
Scheme versatility
snaps at Purdue and Oregon in single-high, split-safety, dime robber and match quarters, letting a defensive coordinator move him without shrinking the playbook.
- 01
Height and length
6-0 with 31 1/2-inch arms lives on the short end of NFL safety builds and shows up when he tries to reroute or high-point over 6-3 receivers.
- 02
Missed-tackle rate at Oregon
2025 tape had a handful of glances against slippery ball-carriers when he short-armed the strike instead of finishing through the frame.
- 03
Man coverage on tight ends
quicker traditional Y's beat him at the top of the stem in isolated matchups, making him a better zone-first than press-man defender.
- 04
Occasional over-aggression
trusts his eyes so much that play-action nods and double moves burn him for chunk plays two or three times per season.
— — — positional median (p50)
- 40 yd
- 4.35sp50
- Vertical
- 41inp50
- Broad jump
- 125inp50
- Three-cone
- —s
- Shuttle
- —s
- Bench
- —rep
| Yr | Team | G | Tkl | Sk | Int | PD | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Purdue | 12 | 106 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 0 |
| 2024 | Purdue | 12 | 104 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 2025 | Oregon | 12 | 92 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| Career | — | 36 | 302 | 2 | 8 | 13 | 0 |
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
Instinctual, downhill safety who plays bigger than his measurables and lives around the football in a versatile role.
Undersized safety whose instincts and ball production translated into an All-Pro, do-it-all NFL centerpiece.
Solid rotational starter whose ceiling caps at spot ball-hawk in a two-high shell.