100 Days of Mocks: Van Ness at No. 13 and No. 15

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GREEN BAY, Wis. – With Green Bay’s pass rush taking a nosedive following Rashan Gary’s torn ACL, and with no guarantee he’ll be at his best in 2023, it’s clear the Packers need to improve their depth at outside linebacker.

One strong possibility – pun intended – would be Iowa’s Lukas Van Ness, who goes by the nickname “Hercules.” At 6-foot-5 and 275 pounds, Van Ness had 13.5 sacks and 19.5 tackles for losses as a two-year backup.

He was the pick at No. 15 in a new mock draft at Fox Sports.

“I'm not totally sure why, but Van Ness just seems like a Packers guy,” the authors wrote. “Yes, they already have seven first-round picks on the defense, but what's one more? The Packers saw what happened when Rashan Gary went down. He and Preston Smith need a better rotation on the outside. Van Ness can help with that. Besides, what are the Packers going to do? Take a wide receiver in the first round?”

At Pro Football Focus, Gordon McGuinness traded Aaron Rodgers to the Jets and grabbed Van Ness at No. 13.

“Van Ness has one of the weirder prospect profiles in the draft class, but it's one I'm willing to bet on,” he wrote. “Van Ness put up a 4.58-second 40-yard dash at 272 pounds at the NFL Combine after registering nine sacks, six hits and 31 hurries from 271 pass-rushing snaps in 2022.”

Van Ness is the most-mocked player to Green Bay at Mock Draft Database.

“Hercules” Van Ness and “Bane” Gary would be a nice-sounding combo.

“That came about in an interview about a year ago with one of my defensive tackles, Noah Shannon,” Van Ness explained of his nickname at the Scouting Combine.

“He kind of mentioned the name in an interview and it stuck and, since then, I like to pride myself in the weight room. It’s something I’d always love to do is improve your body and work hard. And it’s kind of a name that stuck and it’s been fun. We joke around with it. And I’m assuming it’ll stick for a while.”

The Packers took Utah tight end Dalton Kincaid at No. 15.

At NBC Boston, the Packers took Notre Dame tight end Michael Mayer.

“While the Packers may have been intrigued by Kincaid's hands and catch-and-run ability, they'll be fine with Mayer,” Phil Perry wrote. “For Jordan Love, Mayer represents a steady up-the-seam option who some consider the top tight end in the class.”

Mayer also was the pick by CBSSports.com’s Ryan Wilson.

“Wide receiver is an obvious choice here but we get push back every week because it's been 21 years since the Packers have taken a wideout in the first round,” Wilson wrote. “So, tight end it is. Mayer told us at the Combine that he loves the way Travis Kelce plays the position, and while he may not be quite that athletic, Mayer is already a better blocker. He's also a legit downfield threat who it's easy to imagine quickly becoming one of Jordan Love's (Aaron Rodgers?) favorite targets.”

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100 Days of Mocks

Starting Jan. 17, when there were 100 days until the start of the NFL Draft, we started our mock-worthy goal of 100 mock drafts in 100 days. Here are the last 10 days of the series.

45 days: Four-rounder starts with pass rusher

46 days: A first-round quarterback?

47 days: A fistful of tight ends

48 days: Rodgers traded; Packers take pass rusher, tight end

49 days: First-round playmakers and a seven-round mock

50 days: Rodgers, Jets and the first-round dilemma

51 days: Todd McShay 3.0

52 days: Post-Scouting Combine roundup

All-Packers seven-round mock draft 1.0

53 days: Tight end, receiver in new mocks

54 days: Powerful edge