Everybody knows the story by now. As the 2026 NFL draft was drawing to a close, the Chicago Bears had two 7th round picks remaining. Most expected them to just stay put, grab a couple of players they liked, and call it a day. Instead, general manager Ryan Poles hatched a surprise. He packaged those picks together and sent them to the Buffalo Bills in exchange for their 6th round pick. Then the Bears took Georgia Tech defensive tackle Jordan Van Den Berg, ending their draft early.
It was an unusual move. Usually, Poles isn’t that aggressive, even late in drafts. Clearly, the team must have really liked Van Den Berg. As it turns out, that is more true than any of us realized. According to Adam Jahns of CHGO, this entire situation started long before the draft. Bears assistant coaches were evaluating players when they stumbled across the defensive tackle. They grew so enamored with him that they pieced together a 60-play video just to show it to defensive coordinator Dennis Allen, knowing they had to win him over first.
Once that succeeded, he and the assistants immediately began pushing Poles to get Van Den Berg. The GM finally acquiesced, executing the trade to bring him aboard.
Jordan Van Den Berg is in rare company.
Not many 6th round picks can say they were the subject of an elaborate scheme to get drafted. It speaks to how much the Bears coaches liked him. There is no way they would’ve gone through all of that effort buttering up Allen and nagging Poles unless they were 100% certain he could be a strong contributor on defense. It is easy to see the appeal. You don’t encounter many 300-lb human beings with a 10-yard split of 1.61 and a 36-inch vertical leap. Oh, and he also benched 225 lbs 35 times. He has upper- and lower-body strength for days.
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All of that began showing up in a big way last season as Van Den Berg finished with three sacks and 11 tackles for a loss. While not Aaron Donald numbers, it was the first indication that he was blossoming as a player. Remember, he spent three years wallowing as a backup at Penn State before transferring to Georgia Tech. There, he found a coach who tasked him with watching lots of Grady Jarrett tape. One year later, he was one of the best players on their entire defense. If he had shown similar flashes earlier for the Nittany Lions, he probably would’ve been a top 75 pick easily.
Buzz is already building inside Halas Hall.
The athleticism and explosiveness didn’t take long to show up. It will be some time before he can showcase it fully. Pads don’t go on until after training camp begins in late July. Until then, Jordan Van Den Berg must spend his time honing his craft. That means learning how to use his hands to fight off blockers, run twists and stunts, set his feet against the run, and keep his pad level low. As much as the Bears coaching staff likes him, they have no intention of just handing him a job right out of the gate.
Such things are earned, and he’ll have plenty of competition. Neville Gallimore, Kentavius Street, and James Lynch were all signed as free agents, stacking the interior depth on the defensive line. Van Den Berg will have to outperform at least two of them if he wants to get any sort of playing time. The coaches believe he can do it. We already know he works hard and is resilient. The only thing left to do is get on the practice field and prove it. This will be one of the most interesting stories to follow this summer.
