Falcons Draft Iowa DL Lukas Van Ness? Expert Says Fit is 'Simple'
NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah is viewed as one of the top experts in his industry - when he talks, people listen, in large part due to his wealth of connections around the league.
Jeremiah has now completed two mock drafts ahead of next week's NFL Combine, and he's had the Atlanta Falcons selecting Iowa defensive end Lukas Van Ness in both.
Why?
"It's pretty simple, really" Jeremiah told Falcon Report at SI in a conference call ahead of the combine. "They're 31st in sacks, 31st in first down. I think they've been searching for edge rush forever. When you stack it up on the board where it is, I think he offers them the upside there."
The 6-5, 275-pound Van Ness is currently slotted at No. 22 on Jeremiah's big board but is poised to rise in the coming weeks, highlighted by an expected big performance at the combine.
Jeremiah continually called Van Ness "explosive" and has no concerns regarding him not starting at Iowa; that was largely a case of the way the Hawkeyes run their program, offering starting preference to veterans while the third-year sophomore Van Ness caught the short end of the stick.
And for Jeremiah, regardless of numbers or accolades, Van Ness continually impressed on film ... and his traits are obvious.
"He has some real power, he has some real twitch, and he is just figuring out what he is doing," Jeremiah said. "I think you can -- you have a good player right now, and you can chase some of the upside with him as well."
The Barrington, Illinois native earned second-team All-Big Ten honors this past season after recording six and a half sacks, just a year after being named a Freshman All-American while posting seven sacks.
A three-year letterman in hockey as a high schooler, Van Ness has a blend of athleticism, toughness and upside that makes him particularly intriguing ...
And for that, he's a "simple" fit for the Falcons.
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