Lukas Van Ness

Lukas Van Ness (born July 6, 2001) is an American football defensive end for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Iowa and was selected by the Packers in the first round of the 2023 NFL draft.

Early years
Van Ness was born on July 6, 2001, in Barrington, Illinois. He later attended Barrington High School, where he played football and ice hockey. He was rated a three-star recruit and committed to play college football at Iowa over offers from Illinois, Minnesota, and Kansas.

College career
Van Ness redshirted his true freshman season at Iowa. Playing both defensive end and defensive tackle, he became a starter as a redshirt freshman and had 33 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, and seven sacks. At the end of the season, Van Ness was named a Freshman All-American by the Football Writers Association of America. During his redshirt sophomore season, he was named the Big Ten Conference Special Teams Player of the Week after blocking two kicks in a 10–7 loss to Iowa State.

Professional career
Van Ness was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the first round (13th overall) of the 2023 NFL draft. He signed his rookie contract on June 27, 2023.

He saw his first NFL action on September 10, 2023, against the Chicago Bears, recording his first career sack on Justin Fields during a 38–20 win. His second sack came in a Week 13, 27–19 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.