Lukas Van Ness - Photo by Green Bay Packers
GREEN BAY, WI (WSAU) – The Green Bay Packers stayed put on Thursday night and selected Iowa’s All-Big Ten pass rusher Lukas Van Ness.
Over 27 games (zero starts) and three years at Iowa, Van Ness had 19.5 tackles for loss, 13.5 sacks, and two blocked punts.
Van Ness (6-5) has 34 1/2-inch arms and 11-inch hands. He clocked a time of 4.58 seconds in the 40-yard dash.
CBS graded the selection a B- saying, “This is a player with a lot of potentials, but he didn’t play up to it at Iowa. He’s an effort player who has the tools to get better on the next level. Some think he will be like J.J. Watt from that standpoint, better in the NFL. Time will tell.”
SportingNews also graded the pick giving it a C saying, “There’s no doubt Van Ness has first-round upside with his raw pass-rush skills, standing out with his explosiveness and relentless in getting after the quarterback. But he’s also a bit of a project with limited experience for a team that had more pressing offensive needs at wide receiver, tight end, and tackle to boost new young starting quarterback Jordan Love.”
Van Ness will now get the opportunity to learn behind veterans Preston Smith and Rashan Gary and may even see time at defensive end alongside them throughout the season.
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