With their final pick of the 2026 NFL Draft, the Chicago Bears traded up to select defensive tackle Jordan van den Berg out of Georgia Tech, the only defensive lineman they selected with their picks.
Needing to address the defensive line, whether it be inside or the edge rushers, Chicago only brought in van den Berg at defensive tackle, later revealing that they are comfortable with the players they have returning from injury on defense to better their pass rush.
Coming into the final day of the draft, Chicago did not have a sixth round selection, but instead traded both of their seventh round picks to the Buffalo Bills to move up to pick No. 213 to select van den Berg. He’s a great athlete who had limited high-level exposure at the collegiate level, but there was plenty of praise for the rookie by the team’s coaches and scouts after the pick was made.
Bears’ National Scout Brendan Rehor explained the decision to trade up for van den Berg and what captured the team’s attention about him.
“For this guy, the biggest word, I guess the most consistent word we have right now is alignment,” Rehor said. “Our coaches have been pounding the table for this kid for a long time, really the last two weeks. We have a process where we’ll give the coaches a stack of guys in this day three range, and this kid’s name kept coming up pretty consistently. And so it is basically a DNA match just with what our coaches want. And then also just a high character kid from what our scouts gathered.”
High character traits, along with pure athleticism were two of the biggest keys that the Bears came away with in their 2026 draft class, showing the exact direction that the coaches and front office are looking for. Van den Berg will have his work cut out from him to make the roster, but he helps build depth and talent at the defensive tackle spot that is certainly in need of more production.
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Why the Chicago Bears traded up for Jordan van den Berg in NFL draft
Reporting by Mike Pendleton, Bears Wire / Bears Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
