Chicago Bears Defense Makes Noise at 4th Practice 

It’s fun to watch the Caleb Williams highlights and marvel at the potential he brings to the Chicago Bears. At the same time, this wasn’t the weak point for Chicago.

The Bears ranked 9th in PPG scored but allowed the 10th most PPG in the NFL last year. Where things need to get better is on defense. 

While this has to frustrate the Bears offense, in Mark Carman’s top three takeaways from day four of practice, it was filled with defensive moments. Carman posted this on X:

“1- Secondary shined. Coby Bryant INT on 18. Jaylon Johnson deflection, Sanborn near pick.

2- Zavion Thomas ton of balls including TD pass from Tyson Bagent in 2 minute.

3- Jordan van den Berg flashed in non padded 1-on-1's beating Logan Jones”

Again, keep in mind that this Bears defense is practicing against an elite offense, which should just make them better. You can’t have both sides of the ball thriving every day, and seeing the defense get the spotlight from Carman is more encouraging than if the roles were flipped. 

Coby Bryant

Starting with Coby Bryant, he’s a new addition to this Bears defense. Bryant came over from the Seattle Seahawks, where he just won a Super Bowl.

Last year, Bryant was a key piece for Seattle, recording four interceptions, 66 tackles, four tackles for loss, seven passes defended, and one forced fumble. Bryant played and started in 15 games last year.

With Bryant only 27 years old, the Bears gave Bryant a 40 million dollar deal over three years. ESPN lists Bryant as the starting free safety for 2026. 

As the Bears lost both Jaquan Brisker and Kevin Byard this summer, seeing Bryant already making plays is music to the ears of Bears fans. 

Jordan van den Berg

Jordan van den Berg was also not on the Bears last season, but that’s because he was at Georgia Tech. Van den Berg was drafted in the 6th round this year, and his stats are nothing to write home about.

In van den Berg’s last year in college, he had three sacks, 11 tackles for loss, and 44 tackles. The reason why van den Berg is interesting is that his Relative Athletic Score is 10, which ranked 2nd among 2,279 defensive tackles (1987 to 2026).

To hear a positive report about van den Berg, especially that he was able to get past rookie Logan Jones, who was drafted much higher in 2026 (pick No. 57), is very encouraging.