The Chicago Bears may have found one of the steals of the draft in sixth-round defensive tackle Jordan van den Berg, who is shooting up the depth chart via his work in training camp and showed out during the team’s first preseason game over the weekend.
Van den Berg spoke with Devan Kaney of FOX Sports Chicago before the Bears hosted the Cleveland Browns at Soldier Field on Saturday, August 15 and sent a strong message not just to fans and his own organization, but the entire NFL.
“I feel like I got a tremendous chip on my shoulder,” van den Berg said. “Coming out of high school, I didn’t have any offers, so I went to [junior college]. So I feel like I’ve had to earn everything I’ve got. And, you know, I got tremendous faith I’m going to be able to do that in the NFL as well.”
Jordan Van Den Berg Among Most Athletic Players on Bears’ Defensive Front
GettyDefensive tackle Jordan van den Berg of the Chicago Bears.
A common narrative surrounding van den Berg this offseason involves his explosiveness on the defensive interior, which includes strength, quickness and general athleticism.
Kaney asked van den Berg to describe his game in three adjectives, all of which are likely to prove music to the ears of his teammates and Bears fans.
“I’d say disruptive, fast and violent,” he said. “I’d definitely say my relentless attitude. You know, I feel like I’ve just got a chip on my shoulder. I’ve got something to prove all the time.”
Van den Berg, who stands at six-feet, three-inches tall and weighs 310 pounds, played wide receiver, linebacker and defensive end before moving to the tackle position during his final collegiate stints at Penn State and Georgia Tech.
“I take great pride in being in the middle of the defense,” van den Berg continued. “I feel like we’ve gotta take on huge responsibilities and stop the run, and that’s something I take great pride in.”
Jordan Van Den Berg, Malik Muhammad Stood Out as Rookie Performers in Bears’ Preseason Opener
GettyCornerback Malik Muhammad of the Chicago Bears.
Van den Berg was in camp less than two weeks before playing his way up from the third-string into multiple rotations with the first-team defense. He then produced a standout performance against the Browns alongside fellow rookie/fourth-round cornerback Malik Muhammad.
“[Muhammad and van den Berg] did the most with their reps,” Courtney Cronin of ESPN reported. “Muhammad started at nickel and recorded the second-most tackles (five) on the defense, while van den Berg notched three quarterback hits and a run stuff.”
Van den Berg spoke before the game about the Bears’ defense as a whole, which survived on turnovers last season and which has inspired considerable doubt among analysts around the league given some of the deficiencies that still ostensibly exist across the unit as a whole.
“We hungry. We really relentless,” van den Berg said. “I feel like we’re really gonna surprise a lot of people.”
Bears’ Breakthrough Rookie Jordan Van Den Berg Issues Warning to NFL