The Chicago Bears have believed rookie defensive tackle Jordan van den Berg was the steal of their 2026 NFL Draft class from Day 1.
The 6th-round pick out of Georgia Tech was a late-bloomer to the game of football, starting off as a rugby player in South Africa before moving to the United States and picking up American sports. He didn't start playing the game until he was a sophomore in high school, but all paths led him to the Chicago Bears this offseason, where he made former 2nd-round pick Gervon Dexter expendable.
The Bears traded Dexter to the Atlanta Falcons ahead of NFL roster cuts, and the reason they felt confident in doing so -- despite some question marks this offseason surrounding their defensive front -- was the play of the rookie van den Berg.
Jordan van den Berg was a major steal by the Chicago Bears in the 2026 NFL Draft
Even though van den Berg may be raw in some areas of his game (he is a rookie, after all), the way he uses his athletic traits and maintains a level of high effort on every single snap is just difficult for offensive linemen to deal with.
Jordan Van den Berg was drafted in round 6 with pick 213 in the 2026 draft class. He scored a 10.00 RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 2 out of 2278 DT from 1987 to 2026.https://t.co/iW4K4xO8ZS pic.twitter.com/jestNjaHJp
— RAS.football (@MathBomb) April 25, 2026
He scored a perfect 10/10 on the RAS (Relative Athletic Score) scale before the 2026 NFL Draft, which doesn't always translate to success, of course. But it doesn't hurt in the case of a 310-pound interior lineman to have that type of quickness, explosiveness, and ability to move laterally.
The Bears need more disruptors on the defensive front. One of the primary question marks for this team going into the 2026 offseason was their defensive line, and not just off the edge, but on the interior as well. This was not considered to be the greatest defensive line draft class coming out, so this type of late-round find is a huge deal.
What van den Berg was able to put on tape during the preseason and the work he was able to consistently do during training camp set him up to have a huge role as a 6th-round rookie, something you just don't see in the NFL very often.
Last season at Georgia Tech, his production exploded with 44 total tackles, 11 tackles for loss, and 3 sacks. After years of trying to "figure it out", it seems like he's finally hitting a stride where his athleticism is matching his understanding of how to play the game as an interior lineman.
The Bears were able to buy low, and it won't be long before the rest of the NFL is wondering how they missed so badly on this guy.
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