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Bears’ New Addition Tabbed Among Top ‘Out of Nowhere’ Breakout Players of 2026
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- Bears’ New Addition Tabbed Among Top ‘Out of Nowhere’ Breakout Players of 2026
Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles. Getty
Chicago Bears rookie defensive tackle Jordan van den Berg. Getty
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - FEBRUARY 27: Malik Muhammad of the Texas Longhorns participates in a drill at Lucas Oil Stadium on February 27, 2026 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) Getty
The Chicago Bears have a few rookies who might make splash contributions to the team early in their NFL careers, but defensive tackle Jordan van den Berg stands above the rest.
Jeremy Fowler of ESPN on Thursday, September 10 named van den Berg as among the most likely players in the entire league to "come out of nowhere" and be a meaningful part of the defense from Week 1 through Week 18.
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"The Bears have been very excited about sixth-round defensive tackle Jordan van den Berg since the pre-draft process, as if he was their secret player that the rest of the league hadn't yet discovered," Fowler wrote. "Expect him to affect Chicago's defensive front."
Bears Trade of Gervon Dexter Sr. Was Show of Faith in Jordan Van Den Berg
GettyChicago Bears defensive tackle Jordan van den Berg.
Chicago has enough faith in van den Berg that the team parted ways with Gervon Dexter Sr . via a trade to the Atlanta Falcons just days before the regular season. Dexter was the team's best interior defensive lineman last season and finished second on the defense with six sacks.
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The Bears clearly were not interested in paying Dexter big money, and he was entering a contract year, so moving him was also about the fifth-round pick and cornerback Clark Phillips III who came back in the deal.
But Chicago won the NFC North Division and a playoff game after putting together an 11-6 campaign in 2025. The Bears may regress, probably mostly on defense, so a repeat trip to the playoffs this season is not a given, even though it's clear that general manager Ryan Poles and head coach Ben Johnson are building something that could be truly special toward the end of the decade.
All of that is to say that Chicago remains a viable contender in the NFC this season based on last year's performance, the offense under Johnson and Caleb Williams and a handful of talented defenders. The team would not have dumped Dexter so readily if it didn't believe that van den Berg is capable of stepping up and having a major impact immediately.
Malik Muhammad, Sam Roush Could Also Produce Meaningfully for Bears in Rookie Campaigns
GettyCornerback Malik Muhammad of the Chicago Bears.
Also likely to contribute on that side of the football is rookie cornerback Malik Muhammad .
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A fourth-round pick out of Texas, Muhammad may not only start as the nickel cornerback Week 1, he could eventually start at multiple defensive back positions over the course of his first NFL season.
Tyrique Stevenson is the Bears' second outside cornerback, but Muhammad may end up challenging him for that role if/when Kyler Gordon comes back to resume his spot as the nickel CB. Gordon will miss at least the first four games of the year due to an injury designation.
Another rookie name to watch for Chicago is tight end Sam Roush .
The Bears have Colston Loveland and Cole Kmet ahead of Roush on the depth chart, but the Stanford product was an excellent blocker and pass-catcher in college and is, without doubt, a big part of the team's plan at the position in the years to come.
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