GT's Jordan van den Berg picked in 6th round of Draft by the Bears
Defensive lineman Jordan van den Berg was the second Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket to be picked in the 2026 NFL Draft as he heard his name called at 213th overall in the sixth round by the Chicago Bears on Saturday afternoon.
Van den Berg follows teammate Keylan Rutledge as Jackets to be selected this year after Rutledge came off the board at No. 26 of the first round by the Houston Texans on Thursday.
Van den Berg continues to exceed expectations…
Van den Berg wasn’t invited to the NFL Scouting Combine despite his strong production over the last two seasons at Georgia Tech but made up for that absence with an impressive performance at Georgia Tech’s Pro Day in March. The 310-pounder repped 225 pounds 35 times (which would’ve been second among all DL at the Combine), tan a 4.9 40-yard dash, had a 9-foot-11 broad jump and had a 36-inch vertical.
Van den Berg is coming off as senior season at Tech in 2025 in which in which he was named an honorable mention All-American by Phil Steele and was a First-Team All-ACC selection as well after starting all 13 games. He finished the year with 44 total tackles (22 solo), including a team-leading 11 tackles-for-loss and three sacks.
His big senior season followed a junior campaign in 2024 in which he played in 13 games and started seven as he racked up 23 total tackles (14 solo) to go with five tackles-for-loss, one sack and two forced fumbles. His efforts landed him on the All-ACC Second Team.
Van den Berg’s journey to the NFL…
Van den Berg, originally from Johannesburg, South Africa, was an unranked defensive line recruit out of Providence Christian Academy in Lilburn, Georgia in the 2020 recruiting class. He was an First-Team All-State Pick as a senior in 2019 and a two-time All-Region and All-County selection during his prep career with the Storm.
He played one season at Iowa Western Community College and was named a junior college All-American and First-Team All-Region pick while playing in six games there and recording 13 tackles and four tackle-for-loss.
From there, Van den Berg transferred to Penn State where he spent three seasons and played in 28 total games. In his time in Happy Valley, he recorded 26 total tackles, 2.5 sacks, four tackles-for-loss, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.
Following the 2023 season, Van den Berg entered the transfer portal and found his way to Atlanta to play for the Yellow Jackets and become Tech’s most consistent defensive lineman over the past two season and one of the most impactful players on the entire defense.
While at Tech, Van den Berg earned his master’s degree in international affairs, science and technology following obtaining his bachelor’s at Penn State in telecommunications.
