Packers select Iowa edge rusher Lukas Van Ness at No. 13 overall in 2023 NFL draft
The Green Bay Packers selected Iowa edge rusher Lukas Van Ness at No. 13 overall in the first round of the 2023 NFL draft.
Van Ness produced 19.5 tackles for loss, 13.5 sacks and two blocked punts over 27 games (zero starts) and three years at Iowa. He was a freshman All-American in 2021 and a second-team All-Big Ten pick in 2022.
Van Ness (6-5, 272) has 34 1/2″ arms and 11″ hands. He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.58 seconds, hit 31″ in the vertical leap, covered 9-10 in the broad jump, finished the short shuttle in 4.32 seconds and 7.02 seconds in the three-cone and completed 17 reps in the bench press. His Relative Athletic Score is 9.39 out of 10.0.
Van Ness will provide the Packers with a young edge rusher to develop behind Rashan Gary and Preston Smith, following a similar path as when Gary entered the NFL as a first-round pick of the Packers in 2019.
