Lukas Van Ness is gonna skyrocket come draft day

The War Room
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6’5, 275 with 34 inch arms, he’s reportedly gonna test like a maniac and he’s just starting to tap into his potential. Could be this year’s Travon Walker. He won’t get that high, but maybe into the top 10.

Here’s what PFN thinks about him:

Some of their pertinent takes:

“Van Ness’ burst, length, and mass all grant him quantifiably elite raw power, and his full accounting of raw and functional power output can be overwhelming on the edge. Van Ness has shown he can maximize power output with proper execution — lowering his pads, leveraging his hips, loading his base, and extending inside the torso.”

“For his size, Van Ness is a very twitched-up rusher. He can engage fast feet and hands and suddenly adjust his alignment before exerting power. Moreover, he has the lateral agility to quickly offset and displace blockers off the snap.”

“Motor is rarely an issue with Van Ness. He’s a relentless rusher coming downhill who consistently fights through contact and uses his length to close plays. And in pursuit, Van Ness’ size and closing speed make him a potentially overwhelming force in space.”

And then there’s this eye-opener:

“They’re different prospects, but (Myles) Murphy and Van Ness do have some intriguing similarities as fellow prospects. Both have elite size and power to go along with high-energy athleticism and violent play styles. Murphy is better at sustaining power rushes right now and has better hand usage. But with both prospects, you’re drawing from an elite physical skill set. Van Ness is an explosive, amped-up mover with mass, length, power, and strength, and one could argue he has better bend and ankle flexion than Murphy as well. What’s lacking from Van Ness’ game right now is overarching consistency and refinement beyond his pure power element. But that’s something that can be coached up.”

I have yet to really dive into Van Ness but stumbled across this scouting report (came out yesterday) and it really opened my eyes. Obviously we all have to come to our own opinion on the guy but I thought it was an interesting conversation to have. Those of us looking for “our own Cam Jordan” should be intrigued.

@1CasanovaJack and I briefly talked about him a couple of months ago and I have a hunch he’s not nearly this high on him, and he’s certainly seen him play more than most. What do you think Jack, do you see any of this? Are they way off? I can’t wait to look into him further.

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I definitely expect him to test super well. I think Drew Sanders tests exceptionally well as
well and moves up into the first round.

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Yeah those are the two guys regularly mocked outside the 1st who I think will easily go 1st round. Witherspoon too but that’s starting to change already.

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Sounds like Cominsky his draft year. 6’5 - 285 - Ran a 4.6 - 40.

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IOWA rotated their DL constantly so the guys were fresh and they were almost always able to get pressure with just 4 guys. His big games were against lesser talent but he is certainly getting the benefit from D coach Parker and making good use of it. I am surprised that he is getting the first round talk but I think these guys need to strike when the iron is hot. So, I wouldn’t draft him in the first round but if you believe he’s got a lot of ceiling, he does, and you can afford to wait, then make the pick.

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Here’s Van Ness absolutely trashing the top 2 OTs in the draft lol. What he did to Skoronski should be illegal.

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Van Ness has a M Crosby type ceiling

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Honestly I see a lot of JJ Watt to his game. He’s about 15 pounds lighter than Watt was as a prospect, but they’re the same height, same length arms, and Van Ness will only be 21 on draft day so he’ll probably pack on a few more pounds.

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Shit that first play is impressive, just crushed the offensive tackle like he was a high school kid and then the QB.

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And that’s Peter Skoronski, maybe the first OL to get drafted. Really impressive stuff.

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Didn’t know that, now I want to watch more of that matchup.

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And the second one’s against Paris Johnson, also maybe the 1st OL to get drafted.

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Whoa those were some impressive reps

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Did Van Ness play inside at all in college or mostly at end? It seems he has the size to play all across the D-line like how we use Cominsky.

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He played mostly at edge this year and mostly along the inside last year. I’m pretty sure. I’m still working on a deeper dive but that’s what I’ve noticed so far.

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Yea I was just reading he moved from tackle to end in spring camp 2022. Very interesting prospect. His nickname is Hercules. Sounds like a future Lion.

Hutch, Houston and Hercules! haha

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That would be a fierce edge rotation.

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It was looking at his interview that sent me off looking at our own roster again. I really don’t think we’re adding any Edge talent this year. I’m probably alone in thinking that Holmes still values Romeo and Harris, but one of them is exactly who you’re saying would be cut when you suppose the team could pick Van Ness.

And, oh, by the way, you’ll want to search “Lukas Van Ness” when you hit youtube. Last name alone is going to present videos I’m sure you’re not interested in and is likely to wreck your youtube feed. LOL

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That definitely sounds like Travon Walker. When I see the power that some of these 275 lbs edge guys have it reinforces why I think its pointless to take a 300 lbs DT without power.

Great thread and I am glad you have engaged our area expert @CasanovaJack1 on the evaluation.

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