Green Bay Packers take Iowa EDGE Lukas Van Ness with pick No. 13

The Green Bay Packers drafted former Iowa star Lukas Van Ness with the No. 13 overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft. The Packers are officially in rebuild mode and need to re-tool on defense, and selecting Van Ness in the first round goes a long way in furthering that process.

Van Ness played high school football at Barrington (IL) High School, where he was a three-star prospect. He was the No. 981 overall recruit in the 2020 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Rankings, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

The youth movement is fully underway in Green Bay. The Packers missed the playoffs for the first time since their 6-9-1 2018 season. And similar to that year, failing to make the playoffs set off a major change for the franchise. This season’s major move; deciding to part ways with former MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers and handing the keys to the franchise over to Love.

After around two months of back and forth between the Packers and Jets, Green Bay officially agreed to send Rodgers to New York. Green Bay received precisely what they needed to jump-start this rebuild in a ton of draft capital in this year’s draft. The Packers swapped first-round picks with the Jets, moving from 15 to 13. They also picked up an additional second-round selection, No. 42, and a sixth-rounder. Green Bay also received a little future equity in a 2024 second-round pick that has the possibility to become a first-rounder depending on the number of snaps Rodgers takes in New York.

Packers looking to continue first-round success

After parting ways with star wide receiver Davante Adams, trading him to the Las Vegas Raiders last season, the Packers had two first-round picks in the 2022 NFL Draft. Green Bay cashed in big-time, turning those picks into two defensive studs fresh off a championship run at Georgia in linebacker Quay Walker and defensive lineman Devonte Wyatt. And Packers GM Brian Gutekunst is hoping to hit big with Van Ness the say way he did with Walker and Wyatt in the first round.

Gutekunst has put together some solid draft classes during his time as the Packers’ GM. His first-round picks, which include the likes of Pro Bowl corner Jaire Alexander in the 2018 draft and defensive back Eric Stokes in the 2021 draft, have been home runs by the Green Bay GM. And this year, if 2020 first-rounder, quarterback Jordan Love, is another top-tier selection by Gutekunst in round one.