The 2023 NFL Draft takes place April 27-29 this year, emanating LIVE from Kansas City, Missouri. As it stands, the Tennessee Titans have one first round draft pick. New general manager Ran Carthon and head coach Mike Vrabel currently hold the 11th overall selection. Over the next couple of months, I’ll be taking a look at some of the prospects who are either rumored to be tied to, have met with, who make sense for the Titans, or who are for some reason being mocked to the Titans even though they don’t really have a need at the position. Whatever – there are no rules here. Today, we’re lookin’ at Iowa defensive end/edge rusher Lukas Van Ness.
Alright, we’ve reached the end of the list of guys I think the Titans are most likely to take at #11. Now, I have a few more pieces to write on guys who I haven’t otherwise gotten around to yet, or who have been mocked to the Titans incessantly. The entire draft community seems to have cooled off on Van Ness since he was originally apart of those mock draft circles landing with the Titans, but hey – I’ve got a big board to fill out, so I’m going to do the work anyway. I’ll say – now that I’ve watched a couple of games, I can safely say that this is not at all what I thought LVN to be. Usually, you see the twitchy guys who test well with good athletic traits begin to rise throughout the draft process. I’m not sure Van Ness is that prospect.
He was a rotational player at Iowa that lined up all over the defensive line, and earned Second-Team All-Big-Ten honors in 2022. You lay your two eyes on Van Ness and you can see exactly why some coaches would be salivating at the chance to mold this guy into an honorary Watt brother. There’s a reason his teammates called him Hercules. He stands at 6’5″ and weighs 272 pounds, built like a brick shithouse. That build shows up on tape in the form of pure power – he keeps his feet moving to drive guys back (when he drives guys back), and offers added value on special teams. He has a pretty good punch to knock guys back a step or two and then shed the block to move inside – that’s his most frequent path to the quarterback, and it looks like his signature move to me.
But, he is far from a finished product. He’s lacking true edge rush speed for the NFL level, he doesn’t deploy a ton of pass rush moves, and I have no idea where he’ll find success in the NFL – 4-3 DE? Interior guy? You draft him if you need help slowing down the run, but I’m not sure the traits are there for him to become an elite pass rusher at the next level. I thought Ryan Hayes handled him pretty well when they met up. There’s so much of his evaluation that is all projection and not based on proven tape. That’s what concerns me about Van Ness. He is firmly in that ‘boom or bust’ category, and it could take a few seasons before he really comes into his own.
The Titans have done a good job in rounding out their needs on defense. The signing of Arden Key alleviated any need for an immediate impact player at the defensive end/edge rusher spot. I don’t think they’ll look this way at #11, but even if they did, I’m not sure Van Ness is their type of player.
Further Reading: ESPN projects Lukas Van Ness’ future NFL sack numbers via statistical model
2023 TITANS FIRST ROUND OPTIONS
- Christian Gonzalez
- Paris Johnson Jr.
- Broderick Jones
- Michael Mayer
- John Michael Schmitz
- Peter Skoronski
- CJ Stroud
- Darnell Washington
- Wide receivers
- Tyree Wilson
- Devon Witherspoon
- Bryce Young
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Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley.
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