The Bears Stole a Packers Fan Who Could be The Steal of the 2026 NFL Draft

Defensive tackle Jordan van den Berg will have to get used to hating, and beating, his favorite NFL team.

Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

When the Chicago Bears traded up in the 2026 NFL draft to select Jordan van den Berg, they weren't just getting a freak athlete. They got a player who will potentially be the biggest steal of his entire draft class. While he didn't exactly stuff the stat sheet in college, racking up just five sacks across five seasons with Penn State and Georgia Tech, van den Berg put on a historic showing at Georgia Tech's 2026 pro day. His perfect 10.0 Relative Athletic Score (RAS) was just the second such occurrence ever for a defensive tackle.

To make it easier to understand just how dominant his performance was, here are the numbers: 35 reps on the bench press, a 36" vertical leap and a nine-foot-eleven broad jump, and a 4.94-second 40-yard dash. And he did all that while checking in at six-foot-three and 310 pounds. Guys that big aren't supposed to move like that, but van den Berg is built differently.

And here's the kicker for Bears fans. Van den Berg is (or was, hopefully) a big Green Bay Packers fan. According to Bill Huber of Packers on SI, van den Berg has attended Packers games in Green Bay before and even has a Packers hoodie. "I've got a Green Bay hoodie that I wear. I wear it quite often," van den Berg told Huber. Ironically, the underrated Packers fan could indeed by the steal of the NFL draft, but not for Green Bay. He's going to their archenemy, who just took the upper hand in the rivalry with a triumphant Wild Card victory.

Van den Berg will have to acquire a new wardrobe of football gear

Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Van den Berg already checked in with Bears fans on social media, with the Bears' official X account sharing a brief video of van den Berg that ends with a hearty 'Bear Down' declaration. While I'm sure he'll adapt to his new team soon enough, that had to hurt him just a bit.

Jordan van den Bear 🐻⬇️ pic.twitter.com/cOVHnk8Grm

— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) April 25, 2026

But van den Berg is all about business when it comes to football. As Huber noted in his article, you won't find a harder worker than van den Berg in any NFL draft class, and he knows what it will take to succeed at this level. He may have liked the Packers before, but now he's a Chicago Bear. It's going to be his job to help the Bears beat every opponent on their schedule, including the Packers, and he will be fully committed to that goal.

Hopefully, the team will get him fitted out with some navy and orange gear soon, and van den Berg will be able to put that Green Bay hoodie in storage somewhere.

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