Georgia Tech DL Jordan van den Berg Selected by the Chicago Bears in the 6th round of the 2026 NFL Draft

Another Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket has been selected in the 2026 NFL Draft. The latest one is Yellow Jackets defensive tackle Jordan van den Berg, who was one of the late risers in the predraft process and van den Berg has found his NFL home.

He is heading to the defending NFC North champion Chicago Bears and looking to help them return to the playoffs. Chicago chose him in the 6th round with the 213th pick and he is the second Georgia Tech player to be drafted this weekend. Keylan Rutledge went in the first round on Thursday, becoming the first Yellow Jacket taken in the first round since 2010.

Bringing in a big man 😤

Welcome to Chicago, Jordan! pic.twitter.com/BGU9VRa4R9
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) April 25, 2026

Why was he picked?

After not being invited to the NFL Combine, a hilarious error, van den Berg had a terrifc Pro Day, showing off his elite athleticism and why he should be picked.

van den Berg led Georgia Tech with 11.0 tackles for loss, which ranked second nationally among defensive tackles and was tied for the most in the nation among Power Four conference DTs. He also led all Georgia Tech defensive linemen with 44 total tackles and tied for the team lead with 3.0 sacks.

He is not just a one hit wonder though. van den Berg was naamed second-team all-ACC in his first season as a Yellow Jacket in 2024 and recorded 23 tackles, five tackles for loss, one sack, a forced fumble and two fumble recoveries from his interior position.

Before he got to The Flats, van den Berg was a DT for Penn State. Over the course of three seasons, he totaled 26 tackles, including 2.5 sacks and four tackles for loss, forced two fumbles and recovered one in his three seasons at PSU. Prior to Penn State, van den Berg was at Iowa Western Community College for one season.

Earlier this spring, current Georgia Tech defensive line coach Jess Simpson talked about the leadership capabilities of van den Berg and how he grew during his time in Atlanta:

“So what JJ brought to us is the essence of when you walk into our room, there's a competes and tough chart. Your urgency, your strain, the detail in your work, your physicality. He literally tried to embody, and he wasn't perfect at it, but boy, he raised the bar for a tough guy, what a worker is, his physicality was real. He was a guy that was for everybody else, too.

He was a guy that's gonna pour it out. Georgia Tech forever will show highlights of JJ Van Den Berg running down, being a stack monster, finding the ball in the perimeter, and doing stuff like that. And it's fun to watch. When you have guys play that way, it's so much louder than what I say as a coach or what we say to each other. It's watch the tape. That's who we are, that's how we play. Everybody in the last two years saw what he did, and good for him, man. He deserves everything he's about to get, and I think something really good is gonna happen for him."

van den Berg is on to the next part of his NFL journey and I think he will have a long career at the next level.

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