This Chicago Bears rookie is under pressure in his rookie season

The Chicago Bears have drafted some impactful rookies in last month’s NFL Draft. They are hoping that these first-year players can live up to the hype and help the team get to the Super Bowl. There is pressure for them to succeed right away, but one has some of the most pressure out of any rookie. Let’s take a closer look at who it is and why they are facing this pressure.

Dillon Thieneman has pressure to be successful early

NFL’s Gennaro Filice wrote an article highlighting rookies who need to be successful in their first year. One of the names on here was Bears’ safety Dillon Thieneman. Below is the snippet regarding the 25th pick in the draft:

“The Bears just led the NFL with 23 interceptions, but 19 of them came via players who departed Chicago this offseason. A big part of that attrition came at safety, where the team lost its top three guys: Kevin Byard, Jaquan Brisker and C.J. Gardner-Johnson. Ryan Poles signed Super Bowl champ Coby Bryant to plug one safety hole, and then the general manager spent his first-round pick on a running mate. Like Bryant, Thieneman offers the kind of versatility Bears DC Dennis Allen loves to exploit at the position. During his true freshman campaign at Purdue, Thieneman shined as a ballhawking center fielder, snagging six interceptions in 12 games. But this past year at Oregon, he flourished in a role closer to the line of scrimmage, capably filling the box and manning the slot. Questions remain on Chicago’s defensive front, but the back end now features a pair of interchangeable playmakers. That’s a notable change from last season, when Byard (free safety) and Brisker (strong safety) had more defined roles. Allen’s undoubtedly in the lab, cooking up wicked designs for his new safety duo.”

Pairing Thieneman up with a Super Bowl champion definitely helps the team take that next step defensively. With Thieneman recording 14 pass deflections and eight interceptions in college football, he can impact the game immediately.

Dillon Thieneman gets praise from a veteran

Thieneman has a lot of expectations heading into the season. With the team having a new running mate with him in Bryant, the new Bears safety shared some thoughts on Thieneman.

“Just watching the film on him, obviously, him coming out, he’s a great player. But you know, right now he’s a rookie, so he’s not really saying too much, which is a good and a bad thing too. But I’m excited to be ableto play with him. I know he’s going to help this team tremendously, and we look forward to playing together, for sure.”

The defensive backfield is going to be intriguing with these two new Bears players. Communication is going to be key, but it will be interesting to see how they mesh together.

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