The Green Bay Packers and rookie linebacker Lukas Van Ness have a done deal. The first-round pick of the Packers in the 2023 NFL Draft has been signed by Green Bay to a contract. Van Ness then dropped a message via his Instagram account after putting ink on paper.

“Set Goals. Persevere. Always believe in yourself. Beyond blessed to be a part of this team. Excited to wear the green & gold!! 🧀🧀 #gopackgo,” wrote Lukas Lukas Van Ness.

The Packers chose to use their No. 7 pick in the first round of this year's NFL Draft on Lukas Van Ness, who was a standout defender during his time in college with the Iowa Hawkeyes. He redshirted his freshman year before becoming a Freshman All-American in 2021. In 2022, he was named into the all-Big Ten second team. In 26 games for the Hawkeyes, Lukas Van Ness collected 13.0 sacks, a pass defended, 70 total tackles, and 19.0 tackles for loss.

Lukas Van Ness has already been impressing the Packers this offseason, and he is expected to play a significant role right away in Green Bay's stop unit. In the 2022 NFL season, the Packers had a middling defense that was just 16th in the league overall with 21.8 points allowed per game and 15th in defensive sack rate (6.64%).

“All those tangible things. And really the thing that is intangible is his mind. He is a very, very smart, cerebral kid,” Packers pass rush specialist Jason Rebrovich told reporters about Van Ness earlier this month.

The Packers will play their first game of the 2023 NFL season against the Chicago Bears on Sep. 10.