In the week leading up to the Chicago Bears‘ preseason opener, the name that was the talk of training camp was Jordan Van Den Berg. While other members of the 2026 draft class looked good too, it was the 6th round pick from Georgia Tech stealing headlines. He was dominating one-on-one drills to such an extent that coaches felt compelled to give him reps with the starting defense. It was the kind of rapid rise that just doesn’t happen for late-round picks like that. Was it a mirage? The Bears aimed to find out against the Cleveland Browns on Saturday.
They weren’t disappointed.
Van Den Berg played 16 total snaps in passing situations on defense. Much of it was in the 1st half against some of Cleveland’s starters. It didn’t matter. The rookie still managed three pressures on the quarterback. The scary part was that he still looked like a rookie from a technical standpoint. It didn’t matter.
Van Den Berg was flying around the field, never giving up on plays. One of his most notable came when the Browns hit a big screen play that set up their only eventual touchdown of the game. At first, it looks like a perfectly executed play. Then you look back at the replay, and you realize they probably got away with a hold on Van Den Berg, who was surging up the middle.
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Jordan Van Den Berg would’ve made Stone Cold Steve Austin proud.
The WWE icon built his reputation on sowing as much chaos and anarchy as possible. It made him unpredictable, and opponents fear unpredictability. Van Den Berg plays that way. His aggressive mindset allowed him to disrupt Cleveland’s blocking on several plays, interrupting their flow. While he may not have shown up on the stat sheet much, his presence was still felt. That is a big reason why the Bears drafted him. They didn’t have anybody who could do that last season.
What makes Jordan Van Den Berg so unique is the way he plays. While his hand technique needs work, he already plays with a low pad level. That is something so many younger players don’t fully understand. It was a big problem for Gervon Dexter when he first arrived. Yet Van Den Berg does it naturally. This makes him much harder to block because offensive linemen can’t get good leverage on him. Combine that with his natural power and explosive athleticism? You can see why coaches were eager to get him in the draft.
How Van Den Berg got here is a fascinating story.
When you watch him play, it feels like he should’ve easily been a top 50 pick in the draft. Players with that capability never fall to the 6th round. It makes you wonder what happened during his stint with Penn State. Van Den Berg spent three years with the program. For some reason, he never cracked the starting lineup. This is why he chose to transfer to Georgia Tech. They promised him actual playing time. He turned that into an excellent 2025 season, which helped him get drafted at all.
Whatever the case, the Bears are counting themselves lucky. If he had stayed at Penn State and emerged, there is no way he would’ve fallen that far. Van Den Berg already looks like a steal, and he hasn’t even touched his full potential yet. If he does, we’re looking at what this team had with Tommie Harris. Explosive, relentless, and mean. No doubt this game will only build his confidence further.
