Packers Lukas Van Ness, Devonte Wyatt ready to take next step

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Devonte Wyatt knows exactly how Lukas Van Ness felt last season. First-round pick. High expectations. New defensive scheme. Minimal production.

It's the same thing Wyatt went through in 2022. As the 28th pick in that year's draft, Wyatt's rookie season started slowly. But a four-game stretch to close that season that included five tackles and 1.5 sacks from the defensive tackle set him up for a much more productive second season (36 tackles, 5.5 sacks).

Van Ness' 2023 rookie season followed a similar pattern. He recorded two of his four sacks and 10 of his 32 tackles in the final month of the regular season and added five more tackles and a sack in the two playoff games. It added up to a solid finish but perhaps less production than was expected out of the 13th overall pick.

There are reasons to think not only could Van Ness follow Wyatt's path to a Year 2 spike in production, but that the two former first-round picks could do some damage together.

That was on display briefly in last Saturday's preseason opener against the Cleveland Browns . On a first-quarter play, Wyatt beat Browns center Ethan Pocic and forced quarterback Jameis Winston to move off his spot. Winston walked right into Van Ness, who had just shoved aside left tackle James Hudson III , for an easy sack. In 23 defensive snaps in the preseason opener, Van Ness had three tackles, including the sack, all for a loss plus another quarterback hit.

"Lukas is already a freakin' beast," Wyatt said. "Once he gets comfortable, not thinking, running through somebody's face and thinking, 'Why would I let this guy stay in front of me?'"

No one understands the not thinking part as much as Wyatt, who admitted he overthought the game his first two years. He promised himself this offseason that he would simplify things in his mind. It should help that new coordinator Jeff Hafley brought in a scheme that allows linemen to play more freely and aggressively.

That has shown up time and again during training camp.

"I just think his explosiveness is one of ... the traits that we loved about him coming out of Georgia," Packers coach Matt LaFleur said. "And I think there's a lot less read-and-react in this defense. It's more attack, get off the ball, create havoc. And we saw that, I think it was on Van Ness' sack. So he got in there, the slide was actually working to Devonte and he was able to fly past the center and get the quarterback off his spot and flushed to the quarterback's left and Van Ness was there for the sack."

Or as Wyatt put it, "It's more just get off the ball and just win. Be disruptive."

For Van Ness, this season is a return to the way he played at Iowa, where he was more defensive end than outside linebacker like he was last year in the 3-4 scheme. In the 4-3, he's back to playing with his hand on the ground instead of in a two-point stance.

Van Ness' face lit up when asked if this is how he prefers to play.

"Yes, I do," he said.

While Van Ness remains behind Rashan Gary and Preston Smith on the defensive end depth chart, the Packers want to see more from him this season. If all goes well, in a year or two he would replace Smith, who will turn 32 in December and is the oldest player on the youngest roster in the league.

"He's a guy that didn't get a ton of reps in college to be honest with you," LaFleur said of Van Ness. "I don't even know if he started at Iowa. So I just think every rep is so valuable for him, just the more play time, that's why we played him a little bit longer is just to get him more game action and he'll be a guy that I would anticipate playing in this next game, as well."

Wyatt and Van Ness also believe it will help the entire defensive front to finally all be in the same meeting room and film sessions under the same position coach. Under previous defensive coordinator Joe Barry, tackles such as Wyatt, Kenny Clark and T.J. Slaton met in one room with one position coach, Jerry Montgomery (who is now with the Patriots). The outside linebackers/edge rushers such as Van Ness, Gary and Smith met in another with their own position coach, Jason Rebrovich. Now Rebrovich coaches the entire group.

"We have saying: Four equals one," Van Ness said. "If we can go out there and help each other at the end of the day, we're just trying to impact the quarterback. ... When we're out there, it's four guys rushing together, and our end goal is getting the quarterback on the ground."