The Luke Van Ness Monster -Lukas Van Ness, DE University of Iowa

Find out why First Round Mock NFL Draft Analyst William Yanish calls Iowa defensive end Lukas Van Ness a “rare talent.”

Most of my days consist of watching game film. It has become second nature to me. This is where my most valuable information comes from. You learn real quick to keep your eyes peeled.

It might be next year’s gem, or maybe it’s someone being over looked right now. There always seems to be someone new to see.

That is precisely how this next prospect popped up.

Certain schools seem to have treasure troves of players being unearthed on a year-by-year basis. Whether it’s Kyle Whittingham’s Utah Utes, or Kirk Ferentz’s Iowa Hawkeyes. Both of these schools are tough, hard nosed programs.They just happen to be two of my all-time favorites as well.

Their respective head coaches are both former players, and also the winningest coaches in their school’s history.

Coincidence? I think not.

Van Ness

His teammates have dubbed him Hercules, but I like to call him the Luke Van Ness Monster.

Van Ness is a 6-foot-5, 281 pound defensive end (DE) that has spent the last couple of years playing with the Hawkeyes. I was evaluating Iowa linebacker (LB) Jack Campbell when I started noticing this monster rising up every now and again feeding on quarterbacks.

Even though he wasn’t a starter at Iowa, it’s hard not to notice his body of work. Van Ness doesn’t play a position where stats can tell you much of anything.

A DE is a different animal in different defensive schemes. In a 4-3 scheme (four down linemen, three LBs) he would play a 3-tech defensive tackle (lined up on the outside shoulder of the guard).

However, in a 3-4 scheme (three down linemen, four LBs) he would play a 5-tech DE (lined up between the tight-end and the offensive tackle). Really, the only position that I cannot picture him lining up at is the 1-tech nose tackle (lined up on the outside shoulder of the center) in the 3-4. However, anything is possible.

He is simply that good.

He was already getting top-10 clamor and then this kid rips off a ridiculous 4.58 second 40-yard-dash at the NFL Scouting Combine. To put that into perspective, former Cardinals’ wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald ran a 4.63 (40) at the 2004 Combine.

What the game film looked like

Even with the lack of film #91 is hard to miss. When he turns it up things happen. Whether it’s setting the edge or chasing down the QB he looks like a man against boys.

Van Ness has the speed to chase down mobile quarterbacks. He also has the brute power to shed blocks, but he is not overly handsy.

Game film shows explosiveness off the snap with a quick, long first step. This creates a matchup problem versus tight-ends and smaller offensive linemen. The one thing about him is he doesn’t possess an array of pass rush moves.

He’s a fundamental tackler who wraps up.

In terms of his frame, he has exceptional size and length.

Van Ness plays like he has a high football IQ and showed a very nice progression from 2021 to 2022.

This Iowa defender additionally has a knack for blocking punts.

My take

Van Ness is a versatile, old school player, who has the ability to line up in any defensive scheme in the league. He’s a rare talent who takes what he wants. His lack of experience isn’t a knock on him.

I feel he has a low bust probability and he hasn’t even come close to his ceiling (which is one of the highest I’ve seen in this draft).

My BIG three questions

1. Just how high is that aforementioned ceiling?
2. Since we haven’t seen the next JJ Watt yet, can he be that guy?
3. In the top-15 there are multiple New England Bill Belichick disciples (Mike Vrabel -Tennessee, Nick Caserio -Houston, and Belichick) will Van Ness (who fits this mold) be picked by one of these teams?

How Van Ness stacks up and game film reviewed

My NFL Draft Value: First-Round (top-15 overall)

Pro comparison: Former Cardinals’ DE JJ Watt

Game film reviewed:

Indiana ’21

Penn State ’21

Michigan ’22

Kentucky ’22

Ohio State ’22

William Yanish III is a life long football fan. He’s from the little town of Crawford, Colorado. Along the way, he’s lived in Dutch Harbor, Alaska and Brookings, Oregon. Quarterback Joe Montana was his idol growing up. A little bit of CTE from life’s adventures killed his dreams as a football player. Now, he is an aspiring writer and Draft Analyst at FirstRoundMock.com. He’s a fanatic with a dream, which is coming true.