For most Chicago Bears draft classes, the players who tend to create the most excitement are the high picks. Last year, it was Colston Loveland and Luther Burden. However, every once in a while, a group comes along that delivers an unexpected surprise from the later rounds. Darnell Mooney immediately turned heads despite being a 5th round pick in 2020. The same was true of Jordan Howard in 2016, Adrian Amos in 2015, Johnny Knox in 2009, and Mark Anderson in 2006. It appears the same might be coming true with Jordan Van Den Berg.
It sounds odd. We’re talking about a 6th round pick. The hit rate in that draft range hovers between 3% and 9%. Not exactly encouraging odds. Yet that is what Jeremy Fowler of ESPN is reporting. Excitement for him inside Halas Hall is much higher than they’re letting on.
“The Bears believe they’re getting a steal with sixth-round defensive tackle Jordan van den Berg out of Georgia Tech. Several of his testing numbers hit the highest mark on the Bears’ internal scouting scale. My sense is the Bears have plans for him beyond that of a typical sixth-round flier and believe he was one of more gifted defensive tackles in the draft.”
It is easy to understand the testing part. Van Den Berg is 6’3″ and 310 lbs. He a 4.94 in the 40-yard dash, a 10-yard split of 1.61 seconds, and a 36-inch vertical jump. Oh, and he also put up 35 reps of 225 lbs on the bench press. The guy is a physical freak of nature.
So why did Jordan Van Den Berg fall?
That is the question many are asking. If he is such a good prospect, one would think he’d have gone far earlier in the draft. There are two factors involved. The most obvious is that he’s 24 years old. Teams generally don’t like drafting older prospects early. Then there is his college career. Van Den Berg spent his first three years with Penn State, during which he was strictly a backup. He finally transferred to Georgia Tech in 2024, where he started, but his season wasn’t anything special. Not until last year did things finally click for Van Den Berg, who finished with three sacks, 11 tackles for a loss, and 28 pressures.
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This puts evaluators in a tricky spot. Did the light finally go on for Van Den Berg after getting his chance to play? Or was he an older prospect who took advantage of mostly younger guys to boost his stats? Everybody remembers Velus Jones. He did nothing for most of his career at Tennessee, but finally had a breakout season in his final year. By the time the Bears drafted him, he was turning 25 years old. As everybody saw, the last college season was nothing but a flash in the pan.
There are some things going in his favor.
For one, he’ll have Grady Jarrett as a mentor. The former Pro Bowler knows exactly what Jordan Van Den Berg is experiencing. Jarrett himself was a lowly 5th round pick once upon a time. He still managed to carve out an excellent career. There is no reason this kid can’t if he applies himself the right way. That means staying in shape and obsessively working on his craft. It is one thing to have elite athletic ability. None of that matters if you don’t know how to hand-fight, shed blockers, read play fakes, and collapse the pocket without being stalled out.
These are things that far too many young players never fully grasp when they get to the league. They grew so used to winning with pure talent in college. They don’t realize that everybody in the NFL is gifted. It is those who embrace the mental side of the game who become the best. The Bears seem to think he has the necessary qualities. This is somebody who chased this dream all the way from South Africa. He owns his own business. Dedication is nothing new to Van Den Berg, which means he’s already won half the battle.
