Name: Lukas Van Ness

School: University of Iowa

Year: RS Sophomore

Position: Defensive End / Edge Rusher

Measurables: 6’5”, 269 lbs.

Stats:

Courtesy of Sports-Reference.com

General Info:

Van Ness was a three-star recruit out of Barrington, IL, and chose Iowa over 15 other schools. Redshirted his freshman year in 2020. 

Van Ness was named to the freshman all-America team in his redshirt freshman year in 2021 after recording seven sacks in a reserve role. According to Pro Football Focus, played on 388 of 870 (45%) of defensive snaps. Primarily lined up as a 3-technique defensive end in Iowa’s 4-3 defense. Played every position on the line, seeing snaps at nose tackle, defensive end, defensive tackle, and edge rusher, but only saw 19 snaps on the edge. Recorded 33 tackles. 

Van Ness was listed as second team defensive tackle prior to the start of the 2022 season. His snap count went up from his first year, playing on 458 of 834 (55%) of defensive snaps. Nearly 50% (227) of his snaps came standing up as an edge rusher, a position new to him. Also put his hand in the dirt and lined up at defensive end and defensive tackle. Finished with six sacks and 37 tackles. 

Positional Skills:

Strengths

Van Ness’s greatest strength may be his strength. Van Ness uses a bull rush to generate pressure, overpowering offensive lineman to put pressure on quarterbacks that led to 13 career sacks and 74 career pressures, 46 of which came in 2022. Is quick off the ball and in the offensive lineman’s chest immediately. Great combination of speed and power.

Van Ness has a motor that never quits, chasing every play to the finish. Had a great effort sack of Ohio State quarterback and potential top-five pick CJ Stroud. He was knocked to the ground by an offensive lineman, stayed with the play, and chased down Stroud for the sack. Also, played with intensity the entire time he was in the game in what became a blowout versus Ohio State. Playing under coach Kirk Ferentz, Iowa players are typically hard workers and taught to play until the whistle blows. He had great production in a limited role at Iowa. 

According to PFF, was ranked 8th among draft-eligible edge rushers in pass rush win rate (percentage of “wins” versus blocking) in true pass sets with a mark of 32.7%. In other words, he got to the quarterback one third of the time on obvious passing downs. Has great versatility on the line, playing every position along the line in two seasons. 

Plays with great pad level when lining up with his hand in the dirt. Is stout at the point-of-attack and clogs holes on the offensive line. Demonstrates ability to diagnose run plays instead of just putting his head down and plowing ahead. Is a natural when playing defensive end or defensive tackle. 

Weaknesses

The biggest question mark with Van Ness will be his somewhat limited playing time while at Iowa. He played on around 50% of the snaps in a variety of roles on the line, adding snaps as an edge rusher in 2022. May be a bit raw as an edge rusher coming into the league and could need time to develop. Played better and looked more polished as a defensive end or defensive tackle in his two seasons.

Van Ness oftentimes plays too upright and without much bend as an edge rusher. Gets stood up by offensive lineman and doesn’t have great pad level. Doesn’t have much of a pass rushing repertoire, relying too much on his power to do much of his damage. Will need to develop a move or two once in the NFL or will be nothing more than a situational pass rusher, or will end up better suited with his hand in the dirt.  

Van Ness was unable to do much of anything against Ohio State tackle Paris Johnson, Jr, a projected top-10 pick in this year’s draft. Was also pancaked by a running back in pass pro in the Ohio State game. Oftentimes gets his hands locked with the offensive lineman and is neutralized. 

Van Ness registered two coverage snaps in his career, both coming in 2022. If he plays edge rusher in the NFL, will need coaching at this skill as he may be tasked to cover in certain situations. 

Fit with the Packers:

A dominant pass rush can take you places. Just ask the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs, who finished number one and two, respectively, in total sacks, and just played in the Super Bowl.  The Packers finished 27th in the league in total sacks. 

After the week nine season-ending injury to Rashan Gary, it felt as if no one was able to generate pressure on opposing quarterbacks. Preston Smith generated just 16 pressures the rest of the season after the Gary injury and finished with 42 on the year. To put that into perspective, Gary had 38 pressures in his eight-and-a-half games before injury.

Rookie Kingsley Enegbare showed promise, finishing with 25 pressures on the season, 19 of which came in the final nine games after the Gary injury. After that, there was a glaring weakness in the pass rush category, with Justin Hollins, Jonathan Garvin, and Ladrius Hamilton mostly ineffective. 

On top of that, Gary is due a hefty extension–likely this offseason–as he enters the final year of his rookie deal. Smith should again see a restructure in his deal–as he is set to count just over $13 million against the cap–and will turn 31 during the 2023 season. The Packers need depth, effectiveness, and affordability at the edge position should the injury gods come calling again. Projected as a mid-first rounder, Van Ness could be available when the Packers pick at 15. 

Even with his limited playing time, Van Ness produced and displayed pass rushing prowess as an edge rusher and would benefit from more coaching and not being asked to fill a starting role immediately, while still likely able to add value to the pass rush next year as a rookie. 

Van Ness reminds me a little of Rashan Gary coming out of college in that they are both nearly the same size (Gary is 6’5”, 277 lbs), and that they both were somewhat raw entering the NFL as edge rushers. Van Ness actually produced better college stats than Gary in a more limited role. Gary did play primarily standing up in college so he should have been more polished entering the NFL, whereas Van Ness is fairly new to the outside after just one year on the edge. Gary showed his rawness over his first season in the NFL, though, before making a huge leap in his second and then third seasons. 

If the Packers take Van Ness, they would be getting an athletic player at a premium position in edge rusher that could be a contributor on the defense next season and a major factor on the defense in the future. We have all seen how Rashan Gary has panned out.