GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – The Green Bay Packers were looking for an edge in the first round of the NFL Draft and believe they found one, selecting Lukas Van Ness from Iowa with the 13th overall choice.
The 6-5, 275 pound defensive end/linebacker piled up impressive numbers despite never starting a single game for the Hawkeyes in his two years in uniform. Playing with a relentless motor and utilized all across the defensive line and at outside linebacker, Van Ness recorded 13 and a half sacks and 19 and a half tackles for loss in his career.
The Barrington, Illinois native was actually at his parent’s second home in Fontana, Wisconsin when General Manager Brian Gutekunst gave him a call with the news.
Van Ness said he enrolled at Iowa during the pandemic year of 2020 and red shirted his freshman season but he put on 60 pounds that first year and quickly put that extra weight on his long frame to become a dominating player at times. Nicknamed “Hercules”, Van Ness started on the interior of the defensive line in his first season playing, developing the physical traits required to win consistently up front. By the 2022 season, he moved to the defensive end and edge position where it all came together, impressing scouts with his burst and closing speed.
Van Ness declared for the draft and did his off-season training in Thousand Oaks, California where he got to meet Packer defensive tackle Kenny Clark. He said even quarterback Aaron Rodgers, now a New York Jet made an appearance or two during his training sessions. The trade of Rodgers allowed the Packers to move up two spots in the first round and grabbed the Hawkeye pass rusher, the third edge defender taken overall.
A hockey player in high school, Van Ness said that sport helped him with his footwork and change of direction coordination but he realized football was his best sport and now he’s looking forward to joining the Packers where he has a chance to make an immediate impact on defense.
Green Bay lost Dean Lowry and Jarran Reed to free agency up front and Rashan Gary is not expected to be ready for the start of the regular season after tearing his ACL last year.
The Packers of course have turned to Jordan Love as their starting quarterback and giving him extra help in the draft will have to wait. The Packers passed on receiving targets as neither a wide receiver or tight end was taken among the first 12 picks. With three choices in the second and third rounds on Friday, those weapons will probably get added but it’s a big defensive pressure artist from the Big 10 that is coming to Green Bay first in Lukas Van Ness.
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