The Bears rookie ‘beast’ who’s blowing Ben Johnson’s mind and making case for playing time

As the 2026 NFL season rapidly approaches, with the preseason finale set to kick off on Thursday, fans of teams like the Chicago Bears are carefully crafting their personal 53-man rosters to predict what GM Ryan Poles will release on Sunday, August 30.

Now, for some players, there really isn’t much competition for roster spots, as the likes of Caleb Wilson, Jaylon Johnson, and Montez Sweat have their roles locked up, but for others, their spot on the 53-man roster is much less guaranteed, with their summer play serving as a contributing factor to their September employment.

One such player who isn’t necessarily a household name but is turning heads as a bottom-of-the-roster depth piece is Jordan van den Berg, Chicago’s 2026 sixth-round pick who appears to have found a massive fan in Ben Johnson, as he explained on Tuesday.

“He’s a beast. This guy … he’s an incredible athlete. He’s still learning the game of football to a degree, and yet it’s amazing what he brings to the table,” Johnson said via Courtney Cronin. “He’s been the same guy every single day. Smile on his face. He loves football. He loves the process. I haven’t seen it yet, but someone told me he was mic’ed up in that first game and he’s coming to the sideline, he’s talking to Grady about the things that are happening on the field. Grady’s helping him, giving him tidbits here and there. It’s a good thing to see right now. He’s firmly in the mix.”

After bouncing around in college, going from Iowa Western to Penn State to Georgia Tech from 2020-2025, the Johannesburg, South Africa product entered the NFL as more of an athletically gifted project than a player, but now? Now he might actually see playing time on one of the NFC’s better defenses, which is pretty incredible, considering his path to the pros.

The post The Bears rookie ‘beast’ who’s blowing Ben Johnson’s mind and making case for playing time appeared first on ClutchPoints.