After the Green Bay Packers lost to the Philadelphia Eagles in the wild-card round earlier this year, Packers fans wanted to see the team upgrade two areas: wide receiver and defensive line.
Heading into the 2024 season, there was some excitement about the receiver room and the defensive line group, given the amount of talent on it. However, neither group lived up to the high expectations, leaving Green Bay fans wanting the organization to make changes in the offseason.
To the surprise of most Green Bay Packers fans, the team spent a significant amount of their cap space on guard Aaron Banks (4-yr, $77M) and cornerback Nate Hobbs (4-yr, $48M). With that being the Packers’ two biggest moves, they hope former first-round pick Lukas Van Ness takes the next step in 2025.
Packers Shouldn't Give Up on Luka Van Ness Yet
Packers fans weren’t pleased with Van Ness’s performance in 2024. The young pass rusher had 33 combined tackles, six tackles for loss, six quarterback hits, three sacks, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery.
Van Ness’ numbers last season were almost similar to what he did as a rookie in 2023, racking up 32 combined tackles, 10 quarterback hits, eight tackles for loss, four sacks, and a pass deflection.
For a top-15 pick, Packers fans expect more, especially when Van Ness was outplayed by a guy like Brenton Cox Jr., who had four sacks in seven games. And most of that damage was done after Green Bay traded Preston Smith to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
That said, even if Green Bay adds a pass rusher in the 2025 NFL draft, fans should give Van Ness another chance to show he can be a starter.
According to Pro Football Focus, the former Iowa standout had a respectable pass rush grade last season – 65.5 (74th among 211 eligible EDGEs), which is something that the Packers can continue to build on this upcoming season.
Mark Oldacres of the Packers Wire pointed out how much Van Ness improved over the last eight games. The young defender's pass rush grade over that stretch was 66.7, and he got pressure on 12.4% of pass rush snaps.
Now Van Ness’s run defense needs to be much better (45.2, 193rd), but if you are Green Bay defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, you want to see Van Ness get after the QB. Last season, the Packers were ranked 10th in sacks (45).
If you are Hafley, you want to see that number improve in 2025 and hope Van Ness plays a huge role. The 6-foot-5 defensive end has the athleticism, good ball get off, and closing speed, which he showed in college.
Van Ness is playing in the best scheme for him and his skill set. Let’s see if Hafley can get the best out of the former first-round pick in 2025.
