NFL Draft Profile: Green Bay Packers Select Iowa DL Lukas Van Ness
Lukas Van Ness
Iowa Hawkeyes
#91
Pos: EDGE
Ht: 6046
Wt: 272
Hand: 1100
Arm: 3400
Wing: 8168
40: 4.58
DOB: 7/6/2001
Hometown: Barrington, IL
High School: Barrington
Eligibility: 2023
One Liner:
Van Ness is a fluid, powerful athlete with immense potential, but he’s criminally underdeveloped in key areas of his game.
Evaluation:
Van Ness is still very inexperienced. He played a little under 950 defensive snaps during his time with the Hawkeyes. Van Ness spent most of his time in 2021 lining up along the defensive interior, but he primarily played 4 and 5-tech in 2022. Van Ness still received a healthy dose of snaps lined up as a 2i, 2, or 3-tech. Iowa even gave him some reps at 0-tech. Van Ness deployed from two and three-point stances. The All-Big Ten selection blocked two punts versus Iowa State this past season. His motor runs hot no matter what role he’s playing. Van Ness displays exceptional ankle flexibility and lower body looseness for his size, which translates to above-average agility. He fires off the line with a quick, low, explosive drive that helps him win the initial leverage battle. Van Ness loads power with his compressed lower body before exploding into the lineman. He successfully builds and maintains speed and momentum on stunts. The Iowa product’s powerful hands and upper body stun offensive linemen. He possesses strength throughout his frame and powerful leg drive. Van Ness dips and corners around the tackle’s outside shoulder, showing exciting bend. He has an impressive closing burst. The Illinois native shows the beginning signs of a pass-rush arsenal. He chained a bull rush with a swim move while working back to the tackle’s inside shoulder against Kentucky (2022). Van Ness converts speed to power, attacks inside rush lanes, and makes use of bull rushes and long-arm rushes. He generates displacement at the point of attack and stacks and sheds blocks in the run game. Van Ness offers decent downfield pursuit speed. While he’s generally a solid wrap-up tackler, the redshirt sophomore isn’t immune to missed tackles. Van Ness was largely ineffective against Ohio State’s Paris Johnson Jr., Dawand Jones, and tight end Cade Stover this past season. Outside of an early pressure recorded against Johnson (via speed to power), slipping a Jones block in the second half to gang tackle a running back, and a tackle of C.J. Stroud on an extended play, Van Ness struggled to make his presence known. He appears to have adequate but not elite arm length. Jones, Ohio State’s right tackle, used his atomic length to neutralize Van Ness’ pass rush with little difficulty. There are many instances on tape where Van Ness ends up on the ground. Even Ohio State running back TreVeyon Henderson knocked him down. Van Ness must improve his balance and use of leverage throughout the play to prevent these hiccups. Despite his natural bend, there are only limited instances of Van Ness flashing around the tackle’s outside shoulder. The former three-star recruit still relies heavily on his physical gifts to win reps. He lacks a diverse set of pass rush moves and counters and doesn’t have a go-to way to revive his rush once it initially dies. Many of Van Ness’ big plays in 2022 were extended “hustle” plays. The Iowa product gets washed downfield by double teams and shows a lack of awareness against the run. He’s sometimes surprised by blocks and is often moved out of his gap to create rushing lanes. Van Ness has the power to anchor and sustain at the point of attack, but he doesn’t show this ability consistently. He’s still learning how to shed blocks faster without being taken out of the play.
Grade:
2nd Round
Background:
Lukas Van Ness played two years of varsity football and three years of hockey in high school. As a senior, he had 67 tackles, 18 pressures, and 5 sacks which earned him First-Team All-State. Upon enrolling at the University of Iowa, Van Ness redshirted the 2020 season. In 2021, he finished with 33 total tackles, 1 pass break-up, and 7 sacks at Defensive Tackle. During the 2022 spring camp, Van Ness transitioned from Defensive Tackle to Defensive End. He went on to accrue 36 total tackles and 6.5 sacks in 13 games played that year. In terms of accolades, Van Ness earned Academic All-Big Ten twice, Freshman All-America by Football Writers Association of America, second-team All-Big Ten by coaches and media, and holds the Iowa single-game record for blocked punts with 2.
