NFL Draft night was as full circle as it gets for Oregon safety Dillon Thieneman

It took just one season for Oregon safety Dillon Thieneman to make a name for himself in Eugene and become one of the beloved defensive stars for the Ducks.

Then, after declaring for the 2026 NFL Draft, he had his childhood dreams come true, going 25th overall to the Chicago Bears, a truly full-circle moment for the first-round pick.

Thieneman grew up in Indiana and started his collegiate career with the Purdue Boilermakers. With Chicago's selection, he's heading back to the Midwest, where he was raised as a fan of none other than the Bears.

After the first night of the NFL Draft wrapped up, the Bears shared a special picture of the Thieneman family from when the safety was just a child, and the entire family is decked out in Chicago Bears gear.

In fact, his family brought that picture with them to the Draft, and got to pose with it after Thieneman heard his name called, making his childhood dreams come true.

Thieneman wasn't the only former Duck selected in the first round, extending Oregon's streak of first-round Draft picks to seven years in a row. He joined tight end Kenyon Sadiq, who was selected 16th overall by the New York Jets.

While Sadiq doesn't get to stay close to his home state of Idaho, he did get to have Oregon head coach Dan Lanning by his side when he received the call from the Jets, making his dreams come true.

Thieneman and his family were in Pittsburgh to attend the NFL Draft in person for their truly once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Also read: NFL Mock Draft has Emmanuel Pregnon landing on dream team with Round 2 pick

When asked about selecting Thieneman, the Bears GM Ryan Poles had nothing but praise for the Duck superstar.

"This guy is obsessed with football," Pole said about Thieneman. "Plays fast. He's extremely smart, great leader, violent in the way that he plays the game. Everything we're looking for... A really good fit for what we're trying to do."

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