100 Days of Mocks: Van Ness Leads Seven-Round Mock

With 17 days until the NFL Draft, here are six fresh mock drafts following a quiet Easter weekend.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers’ three productive outside linebackers during the Matt LaFleur have had one thing in common.

Rashan Gary, Preston Smith and Za’Darius Smith are big, powerful men. In that light, Pro Football Network’s Ian Cummings sent Iowa’s 272-pound Lukas Van Ness to the Green Bay Packers in a new seven-round mock draft.

Van Ness “fits that mold,” Cummings wrote, and his 34-inch arms “serve as hammers” against opposing offensive tackles.

In Cummings’ mock, the Packers traded Aaron Rodgers to the New York Jets for the 42nd pick in this year’s draft. Notre Dame tight end Michael Mayer fell into Green Bay’s lap at that spot, and the Packers added potential-packed Illinois safety Sydney Brown with their own pick at No. 45.

A bit undersized at 5-foot-9 3/4, Brown is a stocky 211 pounds. He is ultra-athletic with a 4.47 in the 40 and a 40.5-inch vertical leap. During his final season with the Illini, he grabbed six interceptions. Plus, Cummings wrote, he’s “very willing physically” as a tackler and can play in the slot and in space.

Would you rather have had Georgia’s Darnell Washington than Mayer? No worries. Cummings took Washington in the third round.

The Day 3 picks were spent on an offensive tackle in the fourth round, receiver and defensive tackle in the fifth, and a kicker, cornerback, defensive lineman and receiver in the seventh.

A different tight end was the focus of the new mock by Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus. With Van Ness, Mayer and three offensive tackles on the board, Monson went with Utah tight end Dalton Kincaid, who has “game-changing skills” and superb hands.

CBS Sports’ Ryan Wilson shifted gears from receiver and tight end in his previous mocks and went with Clemson’s Myles Murphy. He fits that big-guy mold, as well.

Outside linebacker is a need, as Wilson pointed out, with Gary coming off a torn ACL and only Smith, Kingsley Enagbare and Justin Hollins in support.

“Murphy turned 21 in early January, and while we'd like to see him play with more consistency, his best football is in front of him, for sure,” Wilson wrote of Murphy, who at 6-foot-5 and 268 pounds had 18.5 sacks and 36 tackles for losses in three seasons. “He has all the physical tools you look for in an elite edge defenders and it's easy to see him in a few years being dominant.”

Somewhere, there’s a law that states at least one mock draft per day must send Mayer to Green Bay in the first round. Brenna Dix of the Buccaneers’ official site took care of that.

Mayer is the “most well-rounded” tight end in the draft, she said, as a “stout blocker inline” in the run game and offering plenty of production as a “chain-moving” receiver threat.

At AL.com, Mark Inabinett went with USC receiver Jordan Addison at No. 15. The Minnesota Vikings traded up for a quarterback at No. 16.

The Draft Network’s Jack McKeesy selected Boston College receiver Zay Flowers, who’s likely not on Green Bay’s draft board because he’s only 5-foot-9.

Rather than hunting for Easter eggs, let's hunt for draft sleepers.
With the help of some scouts, here's one potential #Packers prospect at each position group.https://t.co/dqzzboCAnj

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) April 9, 2023

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.

18 days: Easter

19 days: “Consensus Mock Draft”

20 days: Two seconds for Rodgers in NFL.com four-rounder

21 days: Some seven-round mocks

Packer Central’s sixth seven-round mock draft

22 days: Tackle before tight ends

23 days: On the offensive

24 days: A 10-mock Monday

25 days: The Wright tackle?

26 days: A “plug-and-play” tight end

27 days: NFL.com picks Jaxon Smith-Njigba

Packer Central’s fifth seven-round mock draft