Deep Dive: How Lukas Van Ness Fits With The Green Bay Packers

PLUS: Brian Gutekunst On Why He Drafted Van Ness

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After months and months of debating and investigating who the Packers could draft in round 1, we finally have our answer. With the top receiver and tight end still on the board Brian Gutekunst decided to go with monster athlete and physical specimen, edge rusher Lukas Van Ness from Iowa. 

I find it funny that every year we get our hopes up that Brian Gutekunst may finally break the streak of not taking a round 1 receiver. I really thought this may be the year even though the reasonable and logical side of me was thinking, “Why would the Packers suddenly change the way they operate with 20 plus years of evidence that they don’t draft receivers in round 1?” Regardless my optimism was flying high when the Packers got on the clock at #13. 

The second Van Ness was announced as the Packers first pick I thought, “Okay, not a pass catcher, but I can dig it.”

And now after researching for hours and waking up at 5:50am this morning to write this newsletter I am happy to announce that I LOVE this pick.

I predicted that the Packers would trade back from #13 to the later end of the first round. I was wrong. The fact that they didn’t and stayed at #13 shows just how much they love Lukas Van Ness.

Is it possible that’s who the Patriots were going to take at #14 and that’s why the Packers needed to swap picks with the Jets in the Aaron Rodgers trade? It seems that may be the case. After the Packers drafted, the Patriots traded out of pick #14 with the Steelers and moved back to #17 where they picked a corner. 

I get Packers fans' frustration with not taking a pass catcher to help out Jordan Love but we also can’t neglect the fact that our defensive line needs help. With Rashan Gary recovering from a torn ACL and Preston Smith now 30 years old, the Packers had a huge need on the edge. 

Now I would’ve been hyped if the Packers gave Jordan Love a weapon in Jaxon Smith-Njigba. The idea of seeing him catch passes in the slot from Jordan Love with Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs on the outside makes my heart skip a beat. Drafting receiver weapons is always more exciting than drafting  defensive lineman ,but it’s a position we can’t neglect. 

Now let’s get into Lukas Van Ness! 

First things first we have to address the elephant in the room, Lukas was a Bears fan…

Yes I know, this may be hard to take. I’m sorry he’s had to go through what must be a tough time being a fan of that organization.

Don’t worry Lukas, you have found the light. 

Lukas Van Ness grew up in a suburb in Chicago, Barrington, Illinois. I guess I can give him a pass on being a Bears fan. I get that he can’t control where he was born. The upside of drafting a Bears fan is the fact that we may have just converted an entire family from the dark side. Brian Gutekunst took out 2 birds with one stone. Always thinking ahead. This is why he is a great GM. 

The Packers drafted a gifted athlete with incredible size and speed. He’s 6’5 272 pounds and runs a 4.58 40. Very similar to someone else I think you may have heard of… Rashan Gary. Gary is 6’4 277 and ran a 4.58 40. Here’s Lukas Van Ness’ RAS score which measures athleticism. 10 is as high as you can go. 

After watching his highlights he reminds me a lot of JJ Watt. Big. Strong. Physical. Crazy speed and an ability to track guys down from behind. Never gives up on the play. And he’s only 21 years old! Turns 22 on July 6th. 

He redshirted his freshman year in 2020 and only has 2 years of playing experience. If he played another year there’s a good chance he would’ve gone even higher than #13. 

Here’s a summary from Dane Bruegler of the athletic from his draft guide. 

“SUMMARY: Coming off the bench at Iowa, Van Ness was primarily an edge rusher in defensive coordinator Phil Parker’s four-man front, but he also saw significantsnaps inside over the B-gap. The Iowa coaches reward seniority, so John Waggoner and Joe Evans started at defensive end last season, but Van Ness had moredefensive snaps than either and led the Hawkeyes in tackles for loss and sacks. 

Regardless of alignment, Van Ness has high-end tools with his length and playstrength, which allow him to wear down blockers as a pass rusher or stack, locate and play off blocks in the run game. A hockey player most of his life, he credits histime on the ice for developing his balance, urgent play style and competitive toughness. Overall, Van Ness needs coached up with his pass-rush construction andoverall pacing, but he is an ascending player and competes like.”

Now first I want to address the fact that he came off the bench and wasn’t a starter for Iowa. After posting my youtube reaction video there were a lot of comments that mentioned this and seem worried that he wasn’t a starter.

As Bruegler said, at Iowa they play the older guys and reward seniority. Considering Van Ness was only in his second year of getting snaps, that’s just how it went. The fact that he had more snaps than either of the starters and that he led the team in tackles for loss and sacks should ease those worries. 

One of the things that I love is his versatility. He can play on the outside and inside. The Packers Dline lost 2 interior defensive lineman in Jarran Reed and Dean Lowry. Our interior is lacking depth. Once Rashan Gary is back the Packers have the option of a defensive line that could look something like this: Preston Smith, Devonte Wyatt, Kenny Clark, Lukas Van Ness, Rashan Gary. In sub packages they could rock with Smith, Clark, Van Ness, Gary. That’s lethal. The NFC North QBs aren’t ready for the heat. 

When the Packers take Smith or Gary out they can kick Van Ness to the outside as well. This may be one of the better defensive lines the Packers have had in quite some time. The Packers have been gashed in the run game for years and adding Van Ness should help solidify the Packers ability to stop the run.

Throughout the off-season I never dug too deep into Van Ness but the more that I’ve researched since last night the more that I’m falling in love with what this guy can become. I’m PUMPED the Packers drafted him. He’s got great guys to learn from in Rashan Gary, Preston Smith, and Kenny Clark. 

Here’s what Packers GM Brian Gutekunst had to say about the pick.

This interview gives the most clarity on exactly why the Packers did what they did. Watching these post draft pressers from Gutekunst also gives us insight into what the Packers are looking at when scouting prospects which can help us better predict who the Packers could draft in future years. I’ll link the video below but give a summary of what he had to say if you’d rather not watch the whole thing. 

Brian Gutekunst provides scouting report on LB Lukas Van Ness | 2023 NFL Draft

• He mentioned that Rashan and Van Ness have similar measurables but added, “He’s had a little bit more probably exposure inside rushing than Rashan did coming out, but they’re both big, fast, long, powerful athletes and I think they’ll compliment each other well along with Preston and JJ [Kingsley Enagbare] from last year and some of the guys we have.” 

• “He’s a very versatile player…He’s a different player than Z [Zadarius Smith] was, but I think he’s going to be able to do a lot of the same things as far as we used to move Z inside and rush him… he’s going to be able to move inside and out.” 

• Why Gute likes big edge guys: ability to kick inside. Can’t do that with smaller edge rushers. 

• Did Rashan Gary’s injury play into it? “Didn’t drive the decision at all.” Look more long term, but added that it happens to help in the short term. 

• Why he didn’t pick offensive skill player at #13. 

  • “We had really good choices. We don’t pick this high very often so we have a lot of choices and I think it was just kind of how we had them rated. Obviously we very much believe in rushing the passer and edge rusher is a very premium position for us.”

• “So I just think there’s a lot of growth there and the physical traits are all there for him to grow so there’s no real limitation on him. But also the versatility for him being able to win outside with speed and then also inside with power.”

• “At some point you have to have some kind of physical trait to beat a guy, and just like Rashan, Lukas has those.” 

• “The character of the guy really checked out. He’s a culture guy for us. He’s a fit here. He’s a worker. It’s really important to him. I think that always gives you comfort because you know that whatever talent he has in his body, if he’ll work, he’ll get there.”

• “I do think he’s going to play right away and he’ll help us right away… I would expect him to be out there helping us this year.” 

So to sum it all up the Brian Gutekunst  went with a physically gifted player with sky high upside who has the ability size to play inside. 

Some were debating why the Packers didn’t go with edge rusher Nolan Smith who was available when the Packers were on the board. Gutekunst said he likes big edge rushers because they can be used inside. The knock on Nolan Smith is that he’s undersized at only 236 pounds. Makes perfect sense. 

Not going to lie, by the time I’ve finished writing this newsletter I’m 10x more excited about Van Ness than I was the moment he was drafted. Now I fully understand why the Packers took Van Ness at #13. 

The Packers could use more weapons but they clearly think Lukas Van Ness will be more impactful to this team than Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Plus when you look at the fact the Njigba lasted all the way till #20 (got drafted by the Seahawks), you see that no one was crazy high on him. The Packers will help Jordan Love tonight. There are still a lot of pass catchers on the board at WR and TE. 

I will be breaking down the remaining picks for the Packers in this newsletter so feel free to subscribe so you don’t miss anything. Thanks for reading! Go pack go.