Week 2 Snap Counts Show One Bears Rookie Soaring While Fan-Favorite Falters

A brutal to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday was, somehow, not the worst news of the day for the Chicago Bears. That distinction belongs to Caleb Williams' fourth-quarter injury, a scary-looking non-contact injury as he scrambled to his left towards the endzone. In place of Williams, Tyson Bagent got his first meaningful snaps since 2023 but failed to win a comeback victory for the Bears.

We'll find out more about the extend of Williams' injury after his MRI on Monday, but for now, there's an intriguing trend from the Bears' snap counts so far this season that will disappoint fans of a certain sixth-round rookie. Kevin Fishbain, a senior writer covering the Bears for The Athletic, revealed the snap counts from Sunday's loss in a post to X, showing defensive tackle Jordan van den Berg at just nine total snaps, or 17% of total defensive snaps. For comparison, Bagent got 10 in his limited time on the field.

This is a huge drop for van den Berg. His snap count from the Bears' Week 1 win over the Carolina Panthers was 22, or 32% of all defensive snaps, and it probably reflects a coaching staff that is losing confidence in a talented but raw rookie.

The Jordan van den Berg hype train is coming to a screeching halt

Readers can count me as an early believer and a big fan of van den Berg, even before the Bears selected him in the sixth round of the 2026 NFL draft. His athleticism was literally off the charts at Georgia Tech's pro day, and he appeared to have the right temperament and work ethic, too. However, he was always going to be a project and we're seeing that now.

The Bears' hype for van den Berg was through the roof after the draft, and a strong training camp and preseason raised his stock even further. Fans dared to believe that he could immediately step into the vacuum created by the Gervon Dexter Sr. trade, but that was always a pipe dream. Regular season NFL football is several steps above training camp and even NFL preseason football, and van den Berg simply isn't experienced enough yet to consistently go against the best offensive linemen in the world.

Barring some impressive work in practice away from the public eye, it's hard to see van den Berg earning double-digit snaps in a game again this season.

Dillon Thieneman remains a stalwart in Chicago's secondary

On the other hand, first-round rookie Dillon Thieneman is proving to be an early asset for the Bears' secondary. He played 100% of the team's defensive snaps on Sunday, just as he did in Week 1. Despite being a rookie playing a tough position, Thieneman appears to be handling the leap from college football to the NFL rather well. A baptism by fire in training camp no doubt helped the young safety adjust to NFL offenses.

Through two games, Thieneman is averaging a respectable 77.7 impact score from Pro Football Network. According to PFN's impact score methodology, a 75 would be considered average, which means Thieneman is slightly ahead of schedule. He's already up to 17 tackles and two pass deflections, though the ball-hawking safety is still looking for his first interception.

Sign Up For the Bears Daily Digest - OnSI’s Free Chicago Bears Newsletter

Add us as a preferred source on Google