LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- A moment after disengaging from his block, Jordan van den Berg saw Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Sean Clifford escape the pocket. As if flipping a switch from brute strength to athleticism, the Chicago Bears' rookie defensive tackle accelerated towards the sideline and went airborne as he closed in on the quarterback.
This late-third-quarter play from the Bears' second preseason game was one of several when van den Berg loudly announced his presence. The sixth-rounder was one of the surprise storylines of training camp and impressed Bears coaches enough to earn a spot on the 53-man roster.
"He's a beast. He's an incredible athlete," coach Ben Johnson said. "He's still learning the game of football to a degree, and yet it's amazing what he brings to the table."
The Bears made that official on Sunday morning when they shipped defensive tackle Gervon Dexter Sr. to the Atlanta Falcons for cornerback Clark Phillips III and a 2027 fifth-round pick. Van den Berg's emergence and role in the pass rush rotation is why Johnson recently dubbed the interior of the defensive line the most underrated on the roster.
"When you start off with the [third-stringers] and then all of a sudden you show up and you catch our attention, then we've got to find ways to get you some reps with the twos, and if you continue to catch our attention, then we've got to find some ways to get you some reps with the ones because that's really how you evaluate what you have in the player," defensive coordinator Dennis Allen said.
The last pick of the Bears' 2026 draft class may be its most consequential. Chicago chose to keep van den Berg over Dexter, the former second-round pick who started 33 games from 2023-25 and amassed 115 tackles, 13.5 sacks, 42 quarterback hits and 10 tackles for loss.
Van den Berg was the last piece brought in to beef up the interior of the D-line after Chicago signed Neville Gallimore, Kentavius Street and James Lynch in free agency.
Without an invite to the NFL combine, van den Berg had one opportunity to show off his talent to scouts at Gerogia Tech's pro day where he recorded 35 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press and ran a 4.9 second 40-yard dash. That would have been the sixth-fastest time by a defensive tackle at the combine, directly ahead of the 5.04 second 40-yard dash clocked by Florida defensive tackle Caleb Banks, who was drafted by the Vikings in the first round.
Van den Berg's high ceiling and athletic testing drew the Bears to package two seventh-round picks to move up to No. 213 to draft him. Van den Berg scored the highest possible Relative Athletic Score (10.00), which measures an NFL draft prospect's athletic testing compared to others at their position over history. Van den Berg ranked second out of 2,278 defensive tackles from 1987 to 2026.
That athleticism isn't surprising considering his pedigree. Van den Berg's grandfather, Francoise van den Berg, was a bodybuilder who was a two-time finalist at Mr. Universe competitions in the mid 1960s, where he finished runner-up to Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1967. His grandmother, Joan Ricci, set multiple South African national swimming records.
The South African native moved with his family to the United States at 10 years old and was introduced to American football via "Invincible," the 2006 movie based on a true story about Philadelphia bartender Vince Papale earning a roster spot with the Eagles.
After transitioning from playing rugby to football as a sophomore in high school, van den Berg started out as a wide receiver before moving from middle linebacker to defensive end to settling in at defensive tackle.
Described as "a DNA match" by Bears national scout Brendan Rehoror for what Chicago coaches want from the defensive tackle position, van den Berg has proven he has the tools to help improve a struggling pass rush and the temperament required to win in the trenches.
"I play with violence," van den Berg said. "This is a place where you're able to play with violence and get praise for it. I really enjoy that aspect of the game."
