Every professional football player comes with an expiration date, but generally first-round draft picks are given more grace. Entering Year 4, Green Bay Packers edge rusher Lukas Van Ness has put that to the test. There’s no time left to wait and see as he enters a truly pivotal season.
Is there any player on Green Bay’s defense that has more pressure to deliver than the former No. 13-overall pick?
Van Ness isn’t the best at his position on the team. That nod goes to Micah Parsons, who is not only the best at his position on the Packers but among the very best in the NFL.
The dip in play on the edge after Parsons suffered his torn ACL last year was noticeable — and, if you’re tracking Van Ness, conspicuous. Of course, some decline was to be expected when injury removes a blue-chip player like Parsons from the equation. Still, the collective disappearing act by the pass rush was deeply concerning.
Most of the change with that group this offseason took the form of further subtraction, as Rashan Gary and Kingsley Enagbare left. The only addition of note was the selection of Penn State’s Dani Dennis-Sutton in the fourth round of the draft. Because of all this, the Packers have placed an awful lot of eggs in Van Ness’ basket.
If Van Ness performs the way he has for the first three seasons, it simply won’t be good enough.
Van Ness has maxed out in a single season with four sacks, eight tackles for loss, and 10 quarterback hits. All those career highs came in his rookie season back in 2023. Green Bay will need more. Van Ness talked about it in June.
I think pressure is a privilege to have. We’re obviously in a blessed position where there’s people watching our spot and people are obviously going to have their own opinions, but at the end of the day I think you’ve just got to believe in yourself and believe in what you’re hearing in the building from your coaches and from your circle and other players in the defensive room.
Van Ness has the self-awareness to know he needs to be better.
It’s probably not been my ideal career if you would have talked to me in 2023 when I was a fresh rookie coming in here, but everyone’s got their own process and their own path. I’ve trusted the path. I feel really good about where I’m at.
So, does anyone else on this defense have more pressure on their shoulders entering the season?
A lot of people will point to the cornerback room with concern and wonder whether a starting duo of Keisean Nixon and Carrington Valentine will be good enough. Rookie Brandon Cisse could be hot on their heels. The key difference here from the Van Ness situation is that even if you aren’t thrilled about a potential starting duo of Nixon and Valentine, you know what you’re going to get from them. At this point in his career, there’s little mystery with Nixon. Valentine is also nearing that point.
Even with three years under his belt, Van Ness still tantalizes with unfulfilled potential, yet remains frustratingly inaccessible. Do the Packers have an over-drafted rotational piece in Van Ness? Or is he the quality starter they expected who needs a little bit more runway to take off?
Other young players like Edgerrin Cooper and Evan Williams are facing their own kinds of pivotal seasons in 2026. Can either show another level to their own game and become a star? But the questions around them aren’t as portentous as with Van Ness.
It’s a narrow distinction between being in the spotlight and under the microscope. Whoever filled in for Parsons as the No. 1 pass rusher was going to face some scrutiny. Still, given his history, Van Ness’s margin for error has shrunk significantly. He’s a former first-round pick who hasn’t looked that part near enough through three years.
The Packers picked up his fifth-year option for next year, which assures he will be in Green Bay through 2027. However, the Packers have no long-term deal in place. The expectation is that he will be a torch-bearer, not a stopgap. Anything less will be considered a disappointment, which is why the pressure Lukas Van Ness faces this year is unique among Green Bay’s defenders.
