Bears may have found a Day 3 steal in Jordan van den Berg

The Chicago Bears might have found one of those players in Jordan van den Berg.

It's far too early to declare the sixth-round rookie a future starter. At this point in training camp, it's probably too early to guarantee van den Berg a spot on the 53-man roster. But through the first stretch of padded practices, few Bears rookies have generated more buzz.

That continued Thursday when van den Berg rotated with the first-team defense during inside-run drills, a noteworthy development for the No. 213 overall pick in April's draft. The Bears actually traded up to select the former Georgia Tech defensive tackle, sending two seventh-round picks to Buffalo to acquire the selection.

And apparently, Chicago's interest in van den Berg went well beyond taking a late-round flier.

"Bears have big plans for van den Berg, more so than most sixth-round fliers," ESPN's Jeremy Fowler shared on X. "He tested off the charts in Bears' pre-draft scouting system."

That makes his early training-camp emergence even more intriguing.

Van den Berg's athletic traits were one of the defining characteristics of his pre-draft evaluation. NFL.com's Lance Zierlein highlighted his explosive first step and powerful hands while noting that his physical traits could translate particularly well into a one-gap defensive front.

So far, those traits appear to be showing up at Halas Hall.

Getting opportunities is one thing. Doing something with them is another, and van den Berg has repeatedly flashed the disruptive ability that could make him much more valuable than the typical sixth-round selection.

Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune noted Thursday that van den Berg had multiple impressive reps during one-on-one pass-rush drills, including wins against Logan Jones and Luke Newman. That's particularly notable considering Jones is competing for a significant role along Chicago's offensive line.

Van den Berg also brings an edge to practice. His intensity has already been on display during camp — sometimes quite literally — and that mentality fits what Ben Johnson and Ryan Poles have emphasized as they continue reshaping the roster.

(Josh Boland/Chicago Tribune)

The Bears could certainly use a Day 3 jackpot along their defensive line

Grady Jarrett is nearing the end of his career, while Gervon Dexter remains an important piece of Chicago's future in the middle. Adding a young, athletic interior defender capable of eventually becoming part of the starting rotation would significantly change the long-term outlook of the position.

Van den Berg still has a long way to go. Training-camp highlights don't guarantee regular-season production, and preseason games will provide a much better test of whether his early success translates against NFL competition.

But sixth-round picks aren't supposed to be rotating with the starters this quickly.

And they're usually not generating this much buzz before playing their first preseason snap.

Van den Berg is.