When you have a team as young as the Green Bay Packers, there is going to be a lot of intrigue during training camp. Players are competing to earn a spot on the 53-man roster for the regular season and a role once the games start.
Several players are worth keeping an eye on at camp. The Packers have a few players who could step into larger roles in 2024 that they are counting on to produce at a high level.
One of those players is edge rusher Lukas Van Ness. After spending his rookie season as an outside linebacker, he is shifting back to the defensive line because of a scheme change under new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley.
Playing with his hand in the dirt is something Van Ness did collegiately at Iowa. He possessed the versatility to play every spot in the trenches, taking advantage of his skill set depending on where he was deployed.
Heading into Year 2 of his career, there is naturally some pressure to improve. He finished the 2023 campaign on a high note, getting more comfortable in the scheme and producing at a higher clip.
Over at The 33rd Team, Ari Meirov highlighted Van Ness as the Packers’ most intriguing player to watch in camp. He selected a player from each team in the NFL and the 2023 first-round pick was his selection for Green Bay.
“The Packers have historically taken a slow and steady approach to developing their young players, especially their pass-rushers. Van Ness, the No. 13 pick last season, showed promise down the stretch with three sacks in the final six games and added another in the playoffs.
With new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley aiming for a more aggressive defense, Van Ness is a player to watch as someone who could take another step forward and eventually become a full-time and consistent player for Green Bay in 2025,” Meirov wrote.
Green Bay fans don’t have to look far for the most recent example of how they bring along edge rushers. Rashan Gary, a first-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, played sparingly as a rookie but saw his role steadily increase in Year 2.
Van Ness will almost certainly follow a similar path. The Packers need to start expanding his role because change could be on the horizon as well.
With Preston Smith entering Year 10 of his career, Green Bay could be moving on from him in the near future. They need to figure out if Van Ness is someone who can eventually take his spot in the lineup as a bookend for Gary or if they need to look elsewhere for edge-rushing help in the near future.
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