Bears Select Dillon Thieneman In An All-Speed Draft Class

GOOD MORNING, CHICAGO FANS

Happy draft week! The new Bears are in sweet home Chicago!

Ryan Poles must have thought last season wasn’t quite appointment television, even with a million comeback wins, so he decided to add literal blurs to our screen.

This could be a really fun draft class to watch with their flashy speed!

CHICAGO CUBS

W - CUBS 5 PHILLIES 1

GIMME THE GOLD

• Web gems all around the diamond helped hold the Phillies to 1 run as they went 0-for-7 with RISP

• The Colin Rea Cy Young campaign is back on (6.2 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K)

• Dansby Swanson hit a laser 3-R HR (110.3 mph exit velocity) in the 2nd

W - CUBS 7 PHILLIES 4

GRIND TO SEVEN

• Cubs won their 7th straight game behind a 10 BB to 6 K performance from their offense

• Nico Hoerner and Seiya Suzuki both homered in the 7th

• Shota Imanaga was dominant again despite missing less bats (7.0 IP, 1 ER, 1 K)

W - CUBS 7 PHILLIES 2

THE BOYD ARE BACK

• Matthew Boyd returned from the IL and pitched a solid 4.2 innings (2 ER, 5 K)

• Michael Busch hit his first HR of the season, Seiya hit a HR in his 2nd straight game, Bregman narrowly missed a HR off the top of the basket

• Ben Brown struck out 5 in a shutdown relief outing (2.1 IP, 0 ER)

W - CUBS 8 PHILLIES 7 (F/10)

SLOPPY SWANSON SWEEP

• Swanson hit a towering walk-off single in the 10th after some lackluster Cubs defense let the Phillies back in the game

• Seiya broke a 6-6 tie in the 8th with a solo HR off old friend Brad Keller, then Adolis Garcia hit a HR off Caleb Thielbar in the 9th

• Riley Martin survived the 9th after coming in for an injured Thielbar

W - CUBS 6 DODGERS 4

THE LIEUTENANT DANS COMEBACK

• Swanson brought the Cubs back from a 4-0 deficit with a 2-R triple and the game-winning 2-R HR in the 9th to win their 10th straight

• Emmet Sheehan was unhittable (6.1 IP, 1 ER, 10 K) before their bullpen blew the game

• A perfect relay play stopped Ian Happ from scoring the go-ahead run at the plate in the 8th

L - DODGERS 12 CUBS 4

TAG TEAM BP

• Colin Rea and Javier Assad combined to allow 12 ER in just 5.2 IP

• Entire Dodgers lineup collected a hit

• Seiya, Amaya, and Ballesteros all homered

L - DODGERS 6 CUBS 0

RUBBER GAME WROBLESKI

• Justin Wrobleski threw 6 4-hit innings to start the shutout

• Shota allowed 3 quick 1st inning runs before settling in

• Cubs only had 4 hits and stranded every baserunner (0-for-8 with RISP)

STAR OF THE WEEK ⭐ Seiya Suzuki

10-for-24 (.400 AVG), 4 HR, 6 RBI

PLAY OF THE WEEK 🎥 Nico Hoerner barehanded tip drill

Nico Hoerner was named NL Player of the Week for April 13-19

Placed Caleb Thielbar (hamstring strain) and Riley Martin (left elbow inflammation) on the 15-day IL

Acquired INF Nicky Lopez from the Colorado Rockies for cash considerations, DFA’d Scott Kingery

Porter Hodge had UCL reconstruction surgery and will be out for 12-14 months

Potential free agent target Lucas Giolito signed a 1-year contract with the San Diego Padres

Prospect Pedro Ramirez tied an Iowa Cubs record with an 8-RBI game!

10-game win streak is their longest since…2016 (11). Longest winning streak last season? 5 games.

SCHEDULE 📅 M/T/W/F/SAT/SUN

CHICAGO BEARS

OFFSEASON

NFL DRAFT

Round 1, Pick 25: S Dillon Thieneman (Oregon)

The Bears landed the 2nd best safety in the draft after a surprising fall to 25! Nobody predicted Thieneman would be available, but the Bears pounced on an extremely athletic playmaker who fills a major need and matches their play style.

He ran a 4.35s 40, has impressive range, and can lay out ball carriers in the run game. This is the versatile defensive back who Dennis Allen loves utilizing for disguises and coverage. The Bears have one of the most athletic DB rooms in the league now, and they have an exciting young safety pairing with Thieneman and recently signed Coby Bryant.

This is the first defensive player taken by Ryan Poles in the 1st round, first for the Bears since 2018 (Roquan Smith), and the first safety taken by the Bears since 1990 (Mark Carrier).

Round 2, Pick 57: C Logan Jones (Iowa)

• A converted D-Lineman who won the Rimington Award in 2025 as the best center in the country. He was one of the Bears’ main targets in the draft, and he could push Garrett Bradbury for the starting spot out of camp.

Round 3, Pick 69: TE Sam Roush (Stanford)

• A tight end was shocking in Round 3, but…Roush is one of the best run blockers in this class. He also shows promise as a receiver and has a crazy family lineage of professional football players. Ben Johnson now has 3 talented and versatile tight ends!

Round 3, Pick 89: WR Zavion Thomas (LSU)

• Excellent punt returner who can also contribute on offense as a receiver or running back. He could be a do-it-all player for the Bears with his blazing speed and ability to break tackles.

Round 4, Pick 124: CB Malik Muhammad (Texas)

• Fast, man-to-man corner who could potentially compete for the starting spot opposite of Jaylon Johnson

Round 5, Pick 166: LB Keyshaun Elliott (Arizona State)

• Wore the green dot at ASU and is clearly a leader on and off the field. The linebacker room is fairly crowded now, so I wonder if he’ll jump quickly to the top or just settle into a role on special teams.

Round 6, Pick 213: DL Jordan van den Berg (Georgia Tech)

• Chart-breaking athleticism for a 310 pound lineman who recently developed at his position over the last couple seasons

OVERALL

Athletes: Bears’ class ranked 2nd overall in athleticism based on RAS. 5 players were above 9.50, and the lowest RAS was Keyshaun Elliot at 8.74. Van Den Berg was a 10.00!!!

Speed: Ridiculous 40-yard dash times all around (Thieneman: 4.35, Thomas: 4.28, Muhammad: 4.42)

Balance: 2 linemen, 3 offense v. 4 defense, 2 skill players

TRADES

⬇️ Traded Pick 60 (2nd) to the Tennessee Titans for Pick 69 (3rd) and Pick 144 (5th)

⬆️ Traded Pick 129 (4th) and Pick 144 (5th) to the Carolina Panthers for Pick 124 (4th) and Pick 166 (5th)

⬆️ Traded Pick 239 (7th) and Pick 241 (7th) to the Buffalo Bills for Pick 213 (6th)

Picking up Darnell Wright’s 5th year option for 2027! Ryan Poles said they will work on a potential contract extension with Wright as well.

CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS

OFFSEASON

Draft Lottery ➡️ May 5th

CHICAGO BULLS

OFFSEASON

🚨 Billy Donovan will not return as head coach 🚨

This will actually be a clean slate and a new era of Bulls basketball.

Ownership wanted Donovan to remain their head coach no matter who else walked through the door to run basketball operations. After a much longer than anticipated decision timeline, Donovan opted to leave the Bulls and allow the new front office to choose their own head coach.

It was refreshing to have an accomplished and professional coach in town after so many years of unserious leaders. I would have been alright with him staying in town and continuing to develop his guys like Matas Buzelis who always raves about him. Even so, this feels like best case scenario for everyone.

The last 6 years need to be left far away in the rearview mirror.

New head of basketball operations candidates: Matt Lloyd (Detroit), Dennis Lindsey (Detroit), Bryson Graham (Atlanta), Mike Gansey (Cleveland), Dave Telep (San Antonio), Austin Brown (CAA)

Rob Dillingham had surgery to remove a cyst from his right wrist

Draft Lottery ➡️ May 10th

SAY WHAT?

A CITYWIDE SALUTE

TJ Edwards and Colston Loveland

Edwards and Loveland are the Piccolo Award winners. Teammates vote for whoever honors Brian Piccolo with loyalty and dedication. Edwards is now a 3-time back-to-back-to-back winner!

MILD TAKE

Logan Jones will become a Top 5 NFL center.

Go Hawks!

I’ll admit to being a biased Hawkeye fan, but that doesn’t disprove this take.

Everyone with the Bears fell in love with Jones during the pre-draft process and knew they had to find a way to get him. He has all of the traits you could want at center: intelligence, toughness, leadership, processing, and quickness.

His athletic testing was impressive (31st in RAS amongst centers from 1987 to 2026), he excels at his position after only 4 years of playing time at that spot, and his football IQ stands out.

There is one trait Ben Johnson REALLY desires at center: intelligence.

That’s what brought Drew Dalman, Garrett Bradbury, and now Logan Jones to town.

Pair him up with a superstar quarterback in an elite offense? Jones could be great.

HITTING THE LINKS

Shams Charania - Sources: Bulls get OK to interview for front office vacancies (ESPN)

Patrick Mooney - How Pete Crow-Armstrong is channeling his emotions for next phase with the Cubs (The Athletic)

Scott Powers - Blackhawks’ perfect offseason: Connor Bedard, lottery luck and free agency (The Athletic)

TWO MINUTE WARNING

Thanks for reading! Exhale after the draft, and stay up for more west coast baseball!