Broncos Land Massive Iowa Edge Rusher in Bucky Brooks' Mock
The Denver Broncos enter the 2023 offseason with a laundry list of needs. The offense needs a running back to help ease Javonte Williams coming back from knee surgery.
Another tight end to counter Greg Dulcich could help Denver in heavier personnel packages. Of course, the offensive line could use upgrades and a talent infusion just about everywhere.
However, in NFL Network’s Bucky Brooks’ mock draft 1.0, the Broncos skip over adding talent to the offense to bolster the defense. With the 29th overall selection, Brooks had the Broncos selecting Iowa edge rusher Lukas Van Ness.
Pass rushers come at a premium in a division featuring Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert. While it should be unquestioned, the biggest need for the Broncos entering this offseason is adding to the offensive line.
Russell Wilson holds onto the ball in the passing game nearly as long as any other quarterback in football. Plus, with his age and diminishing mobility, the onus will fall on the Broncos' offensive line to play above league-average norms for the offense to function at a smooth clip if Wilson’s play mimics that of 2022.
And that doesn’t even discuss how important it will be for Denver to improve and lean into the run game next season to maximize Wilson’s play style. Lost in the disdain for the Broncos’ offensive line was the sharp decline of Denver’s defense, specifically its defensive front, over the last half of the season.
There were reasons for the decline, of course: trading Bradley Chubb, losing Dre’Mont Jones and D.J. Jones to injury, Baron Browning and Randy Gregory missing time, and dealing with various dings and bruises. Also, while given a golden opportunity to impress with injuries surrounding him, 2022 second-round pick Nik Bonitto failed to make much of an impact. Denver could certainly use more help up front before next season.
Van Ness is perhaps one of the more intriguing names in the 2023 draft cycle at edge rusher. At 6-foot-5 and 275 pounds, he possesses a massive frame he has worked hard to build over his time at Iowa. With hockey being his first love, Van Ness is still relatively young in the game of football, not having picked up the sport until high school.
Van Ness did not start at Iowa but was rather a sub-package rotational weapon the team utilized at edge or inside to get after the quarterback. His redshirt freshman season saw him disrupt quarterback all across the defensive line and work on his game on the interior to play with better pad level and run gap integrity.
While still a question in terms of Van Ness' down-to-down run defense, he is an incredibly gifted and versatile inside-outside pass rusher that is still scratching the surface of his ability. Absolutely dominating against Ohio State’s Paris Johnson Jr and Northwestern’s Peter Skoronski, both considered top half of first-round players this draft cycle, Van Ness possesses traits that might push him up far beyond where Denver is picking in the 2023 draft (as shown by Bucky’s counterpart Daniel Jeremiah mocking Van Ness eight overall to the Falcons).
However, if Van Ness does fall to where Denver is picking, the Broncos should not hesitate to add another weapon to their defensive front. Given the body types the Broncos currently have at edge rusher, for the most part, small and lacking in length, Van Ness offers a completely different skill set than the pass rushers currently on the team.
With the size and length to play on the edge in a 4-3 and the athleticism and twitch to play more stand-up in a 3-4 while reducing inside into different gaps against the pass, Van Ness could be an incredible player to use in different ways early in his career as he develops more in run defense.
The Broncos surely need offensive line more than anything else this offseason on the roster. But if the best player on the board when Denver is on the clock is someone who strengthens a highly questionable defensive front, then whoever is making the pick in April shouldn’t hesitate to make that selection.
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