Iowa's Lukas Van Ness, Iowa State's Will McDonald in Round 1 of NFL.com mock draft
It's never too early for NFL mock draft season, even with the draft still three months away. Two players from the state of Iowa find themselves highly projected in a mock draft released Friday.
NFL.com analyst Daniel Jeremiah released his first edition 2023 mock draft Friday. He has former Iowa defensive lineman Lukas Van Ness going 8th overall to the Atlanta Falcons, and former Iowa State defensive end Will McDonald going 20th overall to the Seattle Seahawks.
Here's what Jeremiah says about Van Ness:
"Van Ness is extremely explosive and has the versatility to play up and down the line. He is a finisher as a pass rusher and he can overpower blockers in the run game. He should test very well in the spring."
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Here's what Jeremiah says about McDonald:
"The 23-year-old has elite get-off and can really bend at the top of his rush, but he'll need to continue to add strength at the pro level. McDonald would team up with Uchenna Nwosu and Tyree Wilson to juice up the Seahawks' pass rush."
Van Ness declared for the draft on Jan. 3. The redshirt sophomore never made a start in two seasons for the Hawkeyes, but still dominated plenty as a reserve.
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Van Ness had 13 sacks in his time at Iowa while being a versatile chess piece on Kelvin Bell's defensive line. He was an undersized defensive tackle a year ago and logged seven sacks, tying Joe Evans for the team lead. This year, he moved to defensive end during spring practice but wound up moving inside to help out with depth after Yahya Black's foot injury. Van Ness was often dispatched in obvious passing situations.
McDonald, meanwhile, opted to return for his senior season in 2022 and was a vital cog in Iowa State's defensive success. He piled up 36 tackles and five sacks this past season, earning him first-team all Big 12 honors for the third straight year.
Dargan Southard is a sports trending reporter and covers Iowa athletics for the Des Moines Register and HawkCentral.com. Follow him on Twitter at @Dargan_Southard.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: See where Iowa's Lukas Van Ness, ISU's Will McDonald in NFL mock draft
