Matt LaFleur comments make Packers' Lukas Van Ness pick look even worse

Lukas Van Ness has taken a step forward since the Preston Smith trade, which is encouraging, but he still has a lot to prove as a first-round pick. While his production has improved, his snap counts haven't. The Green Bay Packers still favor Kingsley Enagbare to start opposite Rashan Gary.

Van Ness could still reach his potential with the Packers, and his recent performances are promising.

However, there were two prospects Packers fans pounded the table for them to draft in 2023: wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba and cornerback Christian Gonzalez.

The Packers will see the former when they visit the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday Night Football. Smith-Njigba has become Geno Smith's go-to target in an offense already featuring DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. He ranks sixth in the NFL for receiving yards, having caught 75 passes for 911 yards and five touchdowns.

Green Bay passed on the opportunity to draft Smith-Njigba in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft, instead opting for Van Ness. While the team ended up with Jayden Reed, it's hard to deny that Smith-Njigba is becoming every bit the player many believed he could be.

Matt LaFleur reveals Packers had interest in Jaxon Smith-Njigba in 2023 NFL Draft

Many believed Smith-Njigba, who is primarily a slot receiver and didn't meet all of the team's typical first-round thresholds, including Relative Athletic Score, wouldn't interest the Packers at No. 13 overall. They were right. However, head coach Matt LaFleur revealed they "really liked" him coming out of college.

And they had good reason to "really like" him. Smith-Njigba could've dominated in LaFleur's offense.

He is hard to stop in the slot. Per PFF, no receiver has lined up for more snaps in the slot than Smith-Njigba. He is tough to bring down on initial contact, ranking seventh in the NFL for yards after catch with 384, while his 10 missed tackles forced after a reception rank 11th. A combination of Smith-Njigba in the slot and Josh Jacobs in the backfield would've been a cheat code for the Packers' offense.

Now, they must hope they have a good game plan to stop him. Green Bay's defense has struggled to stop anything in the middle of the field in recent weeks. According to ESPN's Dan Orlovsky, Jeff Hafley's unit has allowed 174 completions in the middle of the field this season, ranking 30th, while also allowing 10 touchdowns.

That's worrisome against Smith-Njigba, who can make the Packers pay in that area. Per PFF, he has caught 41 of 49 targets for 529 yards and two touchdowns in the middle of the field this season.

If there's a positive update, it's that there's a correlation between the Packers' struggles in the middle of the field and Edgerrin Cooper's absence, and he is set to return this week. They won't have Jaire Alexander or Javon Bullard, though, creating potential problems at cornerback.

The Packers must have an answer for Smith-Njigba on Sunday Night Football. They wouldn't have that concern had they just drafted him when almost every Packers fan around the world wanted them to.

More Packers news and analysis