(Editor's Note: While the start of the 2026 NFL Draft isn't until late April, it's never too early to profile some of the key participants. The staff of DallasCowboys.com intends to preview the landscape of the draft's top prospects, with an emphasis on possible Cowboys draft picks – from the first round to the last. Today's featured player is Oregon safety Dillon Thieneman.)
- Name: Dillon Thieneman
- Position: Safety
- College: Oregon
- Height/Weight: 6'0", 201
- Did You Know? Thieneman, who began his career at Purdue before transferring to Oregon for his final year of college football, was the third straight Thieneman to play safety for the Boilermakers, joining his two older brothers Brennan and Jacob. Brennan and Jacob began their careers as walk-ons, but both worked their way up to starting player on the Purdue defense. The youngest of the three, Dillon, set multiple freshman records for the Boilermakers in his first season and was a freshman All-American.
Where He's Projected:
In a class where the safety position is absolutely loaded, Thieneman is in the upper echelon of prospects at the position in the company of players like Ohio State's Caleb Downs. After a great week of athletic testing at the NFL Combine, Thieneman has consistently been seen to be available around the middle of the first round, meaning he may be off the board by the time Dallas picks at 20. Could Dallas see Thieneman as worthy of the 12th pick? Could positional value being a major point for teams ahead of Dallas push him to 20? Either has a chance to be possible.
How He Helps the Cowboys:
The most valuable aspect of Thieneman's game is his versatility to play just about every role in the secondary outside of straight up outside cornerback. He has the range to take away the deep part of the field and play center field, he can come down to the box and play the run and has the traits and experience necessary to line up in the nickel position and wear all of those hats at once. As NFL defenses continue to put a lot of value into versatile defensive backs that typically have played safety or a similar role like Thieneman, he could be next in line of players that move around the field and make big impacts, like Nick Emmanwori when he was coming out of South Carolina in the last cycle. That's not necessarily a player comparison per se, but Thieneman can essentially handle whatever role Christian Parker and Dallas want to have him fill from day one.
Final Thoughts:
In a draft where positional value could go out the window, Thieneman is one of the players that sticks out for simply being a good football player. In his career, Thieneman recorded 302 tackles,13 pass breakups, eight interceptions, two forced fumbles and two sacks. He even returned punts briefly in his sophomore season at Purdue. There isn't much that Thieneman can't do on the football field, and in a draft where Dallas is looking for players that raise the floor of their defense, he has the skills necessary to do that. The question is going to be where he fits in being selected. Could Dallas view picking Thieneman at 12 a reach? Will he make it to 20? Could Dallas pass because they feel there's enough depth a safety to get a player later? All questions that will be answered in a week's time.
