Jordan van den Berg scored a perfect 10.00 Relative Athletic Score. Out of 2,270 defensive tackles tested since 1987, only one other player in history has matched that number. He benched 225 pounds 35 times at his pro day. He ran a 4.19-second 20-yard shuttle, nearly half a second faster than any defensive tackle at the 2026 Combine. His 9-foot-11-inch broad jump would have ranked first among all Combine DTs. And the Combine never invited him. The Green Bay Packers noticed. Everyone else should be panicking about what they missed.
How the Combine Missed a Generational Athlete
Sep 27, 2025; Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets defensive lineman Jordan van den Berg (99) attempts to tackle Wake Forest Demon Deacons quarterback Robby Ashford (2) during the fourth quarter at Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Zachary Taft-Imagn Images
The NFL Combine invitation process relies on subjective scouting consensus, not raw metrics. Van den Berg’s career path worked against him: Iowa Western Community College, then Penn State (28 games, limited snaps), then Georgia Tech as a transfer. That winding road created blind spots. Scouts saw 6.5 career sacks across five college seasons and flagged limited pass-rush production. They graded him a 6.7, “Pure Backup,” per Steelers Depot. The testing numbers told a completely different story. The system prioritized film doubt over measurable dominance, and that tension explains everything that follows.
What Fans See at the Grocery Store
Mar 30, 2026; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur during the 2026 NFL Annual League Meeting at the Arizona Biltmore. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Here is the direct hit for anyone watching the Packers’ defensive line next season. Green Bay’s interior D-line was gutted by injuries in 2025. ESPN identified defensive tackle as one of the team’s most glaring roster holes. The Packers hold picks 52 and 84, both on Day 2, and van den Berg’s late-round projection means they could land a 100th-percentile athlete without spending premium capital. A player who posted an 81.2 PFF run defense grade and allowed just 0.10 average yards per run tackle. That is elite run-stuffing at a discount price.
The Scheme That Changes Everything
Jan 4, 2026; Inglewood, California, USA; Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon on the sidelines against the Los Angeles Rams during the first half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
New Packers defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon is installing a 3-4 base defense. That scheme demands gap-control nose tackles who eat double teams and stuff runs. Van den Berg’s entire skill set reads like Gannon’s wish list: 310 pounds, explosive lateral movement, a 9.9% pressure rate from interior alignment. Scouting consensus boards rank prospects generically. Gannon’s scheme creates specific demand that generic boards cannot capture. The Packers are not browsing. They are shopping for a particular tool, and van den Berg fits the blueprint better than most Day 1 prospects at the position.
The Ripple Hitting 31 Other Front Offices
Penn State defensive tackle Jordan van den Berg (52) and linebacker Curtis Jacobs (23) combine for a tackle on Indiana quarterback Brendan Sorsby during the second half of an NCAA football game at Beaver Stadium Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023, in State College, Pa. The Nittany Lions won, 33-24.
Once SI.com published van den Berg’s pro-day numbers and Packers visit, the information asymmetry collapsed. Teams that ignored a non-Combine prospect suddenly had to reassess. His 4.19 shuttle is the fastest by any defensive tackle since at least 2013. That is not a marginal edge. That is a 13-year record set by a player nobody invited to the main stage. Every front office running a 3-4 or hybrid scheme just added van den Berg to their call sheet. The quiet evaluation became a loud competition in under a week.
The Two-Layer Draft Nobody Talks About
Mar 1, 2026; Indianapolis, IN, USA; The NFL Scouting Combine logo on the field at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
The draft operates on two invisible layers. Layer 1 is the Combine consensus board: generic rankings built from testing data and film grades. Layer 2 is team-specific evaluation, where coordinators filter prospects through scheme fit, roster needs, and their own scouting homework. Van den Berg barely registers on Layer 1. On Layer 2, for a team like Green Bay, he is a priority target. Combine consensus said “backup.” Packers’ parallel scouting said “visit him.” Same player. Two completely different valuations. That gap is where draft steals are born.
A Voice From Inside the Machine
Sep 17, 2022; Auburn, Alabama, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions defensive tackle Jordan van den Berg (52) celebrates a tackle against the Auburn Tigers during the fourth quarter at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Reed-Imagn Images
“Added together, van den Berg’s combination of size, strength and athleticism put him in the 100th percentile among defensive tackles.” That is SI.com’s own analysis, published the same week scouts projected him as a Day 3 afterthought. Read that again. The 100th percentile. And the scouting report from Steelers Depot concedes the tension directly: “Elite athletic traits don’t always show up on the field.” Scouts are admitting, on the record, that they cannot fully explain why a perfect-scoring athlete grades out as a backup. That uncertainty is the story.
The Precedent That Rewrites the Playbook
Sep 27, 2025; Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets defensive lineman Jordan van den Berg (99) attempts to tackle Wake Forest Demon Deacons quarterback Robby Ashford (2) during the fourth quarter at Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Zachary Taft-Imagn Images
Van den Berg’s arc is becoming a template. If a team drafts him on Day 2 or early Day 3 and he produces, every future Combine-snubbed prospect with elite pro-day numbers will point to this case. The Combine’s authority as the definitive gatekeeper erodes. Teams with thorough parallel scouting networks gain permanent advantage over organizations that treat Combine rankings as gospel. His consecutive first-team All-ACC honors in 2024 and 2025 already proved on-field legitimacy. The pro day proved athletic ceiling. Together, they challenge how the entire scouting industry weighs production against potential.
Who Wins and Who Gets Burned
Oct 11, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Virginia Tech Hokies quarterback Kyron Drones (1) runs past Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets defensive tackle Jordan van den Berg (99) in the fourth quarter at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images
Winners: teams with autonomous scout networks that evaluate independently of Combine consensus. The Packers, with picks 52 and 84 and a scheme tailor-made for van den Berg, sit in the best position. Losers: front offices that outsource evaluation to the Combine filter and miss prospects like a South African-born, community-college-started, two-time All-ACC defensive tackle with a perfect athletic score. The irony cuts deep. Van den Berg’s most elite testing metrics, bench press, shuttle, broad jump, are run-defense indicators. The exact skills his “backup” grade supposedly measured.
Eight Days and the Cascade Keeps Breaking
Penn State head coach James Franklin talks with defensive tackle Jordan van den Berg at the end of a series at the 2022 Blue-White game at Beaver Stadium on Saturday, April 23, 2022, in State College. Hes Dr 042322 Bluewhite
The draft opens in roughly eight days. Van den Berg’s stock is climbing in real time. If he lands before pick 84, it validates pro-day redemption over Combine gatekeeping for every prospect watching. If he falls to Day 3 or goes undrafted, some team captures a generational athlete at minimum cost, and every scout who passed on him spends the next three years hoping they were right. Either outcome reshapes how the league values athleticism versus production. The cascade from one perfect score, one snub, and one Packers visit is just getting started.
Sources:
“Most Athletic Defensive Player in NFL Draft Has ’30’ Visit With Packers.” Sports Illustrated (Packers / SI.com), 7 Apr. 2026.
“2026 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Georgia Tech DT Jordan van den Berg.” Steelers Depot, 27 Mar. 2026.
“Meet Jordan van den Berg, the Most Athletic Defensive Tackle You’ve Never Heard Of.” The Sporting News, 19 Mar. 2026.
“van den Berg Named First-Team Academic All-America.” Georgia Tech Athletics (Ramblin’ Wreck), 26 Jan. 2026.
