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Meet Jordan van den Berg, the most athletic defensive tackle you've never heard of
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- Meet Jordan van den Berg, the most athletic defensive tackle you've never heard of
Meet Jordan van den Berg, the most athletic defensive tackle you've never heard of originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
The 2026 NFL Scouting Combine was the fastest all-time, a testament to the elite athletes dominating the pre-draft circuit and the influx of prospects opting out of the Indianapolis festivities.
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If Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets defensive tackle Jordan van den Berg had been there, the historic group of defensive tackles would have been even freakier.
Instead, van den Berg was left off the expansive list of Combine invites, presumably due to just a single season of strong production. He was a snub in every sense of the word, and in the weeks since, he has proven that he belongs firmly in the conversation for Day 3 of the 2026 NFL Draft.
Jordan van den Berg's pro day stands out
At Georgia Tech's pro day, van den Berg emerged as a clear victor.
Measuring in at 6'3" and 310, he checked the size box, adding credibility to the athletic testing that defined his day. This wasn't an undersized tackle trying to run his way up boards. Rather, van den Berg proved that his athletic profile would pop in any spreadsheet, especially when accounting for size.
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We'd be remiss not to begin with his short shuttle, which at 4.19 seconds is tied with Henry Anderson for the best defensive tackle time since 2010 (via Mockdraftable ). It's emblematic of his standout burst, a downright silly trait.
His jumps were similarly impressive. A 36-inch vertical and 9'11" broad jump were both 98th-percentile marks.
Of course, no athletic profile is complete without the 40-yard dash that captures the spotlight. He didn't run in Indianapolis, but when given the chance in Atlanta, he met the moment, posting a sub-4.94-second 40-yard dash. A sub-5.00 time is elite; Georgia Tech's star cleared it easily.
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Perhaps it's for the best that van den Berg didn't participate in the Combine. His 40-yard dash time would have looked far more pedestrian. With so many players opting out, a 4.94 mark would have ranked eighth among defensive tackles.
Instead, he gets his day in the sun and all the attention that comes with it.
van den Berg finally popped in 2025, generating three sacks and 11 tackles for loss. It came in his fifth college season and second at Georgia Tech, following a three-year stint at Penn State that probably should have put him on our collective radar in the first place.
MORE: Winners and losers from the NFL Combine – defensive line, linebackers
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As he looks to solidify his 2026 draft stock, it's worth considering some of the uncertainties in his game. While unsurprising, van den Berg's best season came as a fifth-year player, posing questions about why he didn't dominate when he wasn't quite as strong or polished. He's never been much of a sack artist -- his three sacks were a career high -- which means he doesn't quite fit the archetype of a juiced-up rotational pass rusher.
van den Berg is a freak athlete whose size and speed allow him to make an impact regularly on early downs. He may be limited to that role at the next level, capping his draft stock to Day 3, but this kind of profile can find work on Sundays.
