Chicago Bears 7-Round Mock Draft 2.0: Bolstering the trenches

1st Round, Pick #9: Lukas Van Ness, EDGE

Lukas Van Ness, the EDGE rusher out of Iowa has been a late riser in most people’s draft boards as the offseason process has been exhausted, and in my opinion, will continue to rise. Van Ness is one of the best developmental pass rushers in the draft with his elite athletic profile that we got to see glimpses of at the combine. Van Ness scored an exceptional 9.75u RAS score which is a grading system that is used to see how players score athletically compared to other combine testers. 

Van Ness did not get an ideal amount of snaps at Iowa as he was merely a rotational guy and a big reason why his declaration for the draft was a shock to most. Despite the lack of snaps, Van Ness showed his elite athleticism and why teams will be eager to take a shot on the young pass rusher. If Van Ness can open up and expand his pass rush arsenal he could very easily be an elite pass rusher in this league, finding more ways to win to complement his signature bull rush will be a big key to his career in this league.

Ryan Poles has shown that he cares about RAS scores through his first draft class and a good portion of his signings, which is why he is such a fit for this Bears regime’s agenda. Poles bringing home a player who was born in the Chicago area could be a great way to start building a scary defensive line. 

Van Ness has been a guy highly projected to be a late first-round pick but I believe his stock will keep on rising come draft day, and will be picked within the first 20 picks.