Jordan van den Berg wasn’t supposed to be a name Bears fans knew by the second week of August. A sixth-round pick out of Georgia Tech, the defensive tackle looked penciled in for a camp battle over a practice-squad spot. Instead, he’s taking reps with the twos and threatening to work his way into the ones — and the Bears’ veterans in the room have noticed.
“I think he’s gonna be a hell of a football player,” Bears defensive tackle Neville Gallimore said, according to Sports Illustrated, which relayed comments van den Berg’s veteran teammate made on the Bears’ own YouTube channel. “I think he’s growing. His understanding of the game is improving every day. I just love his competitiveness.”
Bears DT Jordan van den Berg looking good in camp
It’s not just the flashes on tape. Gallimore said van den Berg has made himself part of the room, not just part of the rotation. “Great guy for the locker room,” Gallimore said. “He does his job at a high level and, again, I think he’s only going to get better as he continues to be a part of the system.” He went further, calling the Bears the best thing to happen to van den Berg’s career, predicting the rookie “is going to be a guy that surprises a lot of people this year.”
The praise lines up with what’s actually shown up on the practice fields at Halas Hall. Van den Berg overpowered fellow rookie Logan Jones and shoved aside offensive lineman Luke Newman in one-on-ones earlier this month, and he’s since worked his way into first-team run-drill reps alongside starters Gervon Dexter Sr. and Grady Jarrett, according to AtoZ Sports.
Chicago took van den Berg with the No. 213 overall pick, trading up in the sixth round to get him. Coming out of Georgia Tech, he was viewed as a developmental piece — someone whose testing numbers outran his tape. Lance Zierlein’s draft evaluation for NFL.com, republished by Yahoo Sports, put it plainly: “Elite testing numbers at his pro day will send scouts back to the tape for further evaluation. He possesses disruptive first-step quickness and heavy hands to beat blocks.” Zierlein also flagged the concerns that came with a Day 3 grade: “He carries average mass and below-average length. He needs to prove he can take on NFL blockers at the point of attack.”
Camp so far suggests he’s answering that question. Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen singled out van den Berg’s technique and instincts after Sunday’s practice, per the Bears’ own team-site report. “He’s another guy that’s really taken to the coaching,” Allen said. “He plays with great pad level. He can get in a good stance and come off and strike the line of scrimmage, and he’s got some pretty good football instincts and plays extremely hard.”
Allen tied it directly back to what the coaching staff saw on college tape. “A lot of the things that we saw on the tape at Georgia Tech, we’re seeing a lot of those same athletic qualities show up, and I think that’s what training camp is all about,” he said.
The path up the depth chart has been methodical by design. Allen described the internal logic the staff uses to promote a player through camp reps. “When you start off with the threes 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,” Allen said. “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 how you really evaluate what you have in the player.”
Where van den Berg fits on a crowded defensive line
Even with the buzz, van den Berg isn’t walking into a starting job. Dexter, Jarrett and Gallimore sit ahead of him on the depth chart, and he’s got company behind them in James Lynch, Kentavius Street, undrafted rookie Jayden Loving and an injured Shemar Turner. Gallimore himself is a newcomer this season, arriving after stops with the Cowboys, Rams and Colts — he started eight games for Indianapolis a year ago.
| Player | Experience | 2026 Camp Role |
|---|---|---|
| Gervon Dexter Sr. | Veteran starter | Starting DT |
| Grady Jarrett | Veteran starter | Starting DT |
| Neville Gallimore | Veteran, new addition | Rotational DT |
| Jordan van den Berg | Rookie, 6th-round pick | Climbing toward twos/ones reps |
Jarrett has taken notice of the newcomer stealing some of the spotlight, too. “He’s a heck of a competitor,” Jarrett said, per AtoZ Sports. “He brings an edge to our defense as a whole. You can tell he loves his job. He definitely brings life to the room. But he’s a worker first, and he’s going to be a highly productive player for us. I’m happy that he’s with us.”
Why the timing matters for Chicago’s defense
None of this is happening in a vacuum. The Bears’ defense has taken real hits already this camp. Cornerback Kyler Gordon remains on the physically-unable-to-perform list with a calf injury and no firm return timeline, while safety Coby Bryant is out an estimated eight to ten weeks after knee surgery, according to ESPN. Linebackers T.J. Edwards and D’Marco Jackson and defensive end Montez Sweat have also been banged up, leaving the unit thin heading into the regular season, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
That context is exactly why a sixth-round rookie forcing his way up the depth chart matters more than it might in a healthier year. If van den Berg keeps developing at this rate, he gives Allen a legitimate rotational piece to lean on up front — which, in turn, takes pressure off a secondary that’s already stretched by injury. It won’t fix Chicago’s back-end issues by itself. But a defensive line that can win snaps without extra blitz help makes life easier for whoever ends up starting at corner and safety in September.
The Bears still have preseason games left to sort out the back of the roster. For now, van den Berg has done the one thing every Day 3 pick hopes to do in camp: make the coaching staff and his own locker room start talking about him.
