The Chicago Bears had an interesting 2026 NFL Draft haul, as Ryan Poles and Ben Johnson were able to bring in a few very talented players for both instant and long-term success.
Dillon Thieneman was a steal for the Bears in Round 1. And that wasn’t the only steal they got in the draft. Malik Muhammad was a nice pick in Round 4, but the true steal was their last pick of the draft.
As ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler notes, the Bears believe they got a steal in sixth-round defensive tackle Jordan van den Berg. Fowler also shared that Chicago has some big plans for the Georgia Tech DT.
Bears have big plans for 6th round steal DT
“The Bears believe they’re getting a steal with sixth-round defensive tackle Jordan van den Berg out of Georgia Tech,” Fowler writes. “Several of his testing numbers hit the highest mark on the Bears’ internal scouting scale. My sense is the Bears have plans for him beyond that of a typical sixth-round flier and believe he was one of the more gifted defensive tackles in the draft.”
This report from Fowler shows that the Bears had a very high evaluation for van den Berg. While there might have been better defensive tackles higher on the board, the Bears seem to really like their sixth-round pick.
With Chicago’s defense in dire need of more pass-rusher help, from both the outside and interior of the defensive line, the addition of van den Berg should be a big help.
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The 6-foot-3, 300-pound defensive tackle recorded three sacks this past season for Georgia Tech, and also recorded 42 tackles, nearly double what he had in the first four years of his collegiate career.
While the Bears are sure to have big plans for Thieneman, Logan Jones, and Sam Roush, their plan for van den Berg being so lofty is noteworthy.
A sixth-round pick typically doesn’t turn into an impact player right away, but based on Fowler’s report, it seems that the Bears believe their new DT has a chance to be more than a simple late-round flier.