The Green Bay Packers head into training camp with the hope that former first-round pick Lukas Van Ness takes the next step in his career. The former Iowa product has had a rough start, and the looming threat of the Packers trading for disgruntled Cincinnati Bengals pass-rusher Trey Hendrickson shows that the organization is running out of patience.
The Packers no doubt had high hopes for Van Ness after selecting him with the No. 13 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. In college, he impressed with his tantalizing mixture of size, speed, and power while racking up 13.5 career sacks for the Hawkeyes in his final two seasons.
Unfortunately, he’s yet to hit that modest total in two years in Green Bay. While his outlook is overcast with a now-or-never feeling, there’s a shining example of patience paying off for the Packers on the defensive front already.
Packers have seen a slow-starting first-round pick blossom before
Way back in 2019, Rashan Gary was drafted with the No. 12 overall pick out of Michigan. Like Van Ness, he had modest sack production with just 10.5 sacks for the Wolverines, but he also carried a 6-foot-5, 270-pound frame that was hard to ignore in his draft profile.
Gary didn’t exactly hit the frozen turf running either, though. In his first two seasons, he grabbed just seven sacks. His rookie season was largely spent behind Za’Darius Smith and Preston Smith in the edge rotation, but he started to eat into Preston Smith’s snap count in his second year to grab five sacks.
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Similarly, Van Ness has just seven sacks in his first two seasons. Like Gary, Preston Smith was ahead of Van Ness on the depth chart in his rookie season. In year two, Van Ness was given more opportunities, but did, unfortunately, see his sack total drop from four to three.
While Gary hasn’t exactly developed into a superstar competing with T.J. Watt, Myles Garrett, and Micah Parsons for Defensive Player of the Year awards, he has become a stalwart presence on the defense. Over the last eight seasons, he’s averaged eight sacks and 19 QB hits per year. Not world-shaking, but steady production has been enough for him to preserve his status in the lineup.
Year 3 could be Lukas Van Ness’s best shot at shedding the bust label
The hope is that Van Ness can take that step like Gary did in Year 3. In 2021, Gary hit his career high of 9.5 sacks. If Van Ness can follow suit, then the Packers can feel a bit more at ease with their front-four pass rush. After all, the interior down linemen generate a decent amount of pressure themselves to help balance the defense out.
While Packers fans would no doubt welcome a game-changing trade for Hendrickson or somebody similar, there’s something to be said for having some patience with the guys the organization heavily invested in.
It is, without a doubt, a make-or-break season for Van Ness. But he’s also set to be a full-time starter for the first time in his young career. That new opportunity could be the difference in his overcoming the bust label associated with his name.