Van Ness Making Noise at Camp
Excitement for a breakout from the third year pass rusher lurks
By GregMeinholz
For Packer fans, reflecting on the last 15 years, the term "pass rush" likely evokes the name "Clay Matthews." Matthews is easily one of, if not the best, pass rusher that the Packers have rostered in the last decade and a half. However, like all other great pass rushers, Matthews began to command double-teams and other extra attention from opposing offenses, which slowly minimized his impact after a few seasons. Matthews needed a pass-rushing partner to take some of the pressure off.
Initially, fellow USC alum Nick Perry was drafted in the first round of the 2012 draft to help Matthews in hunting down quarterbacks. Perry had a few flashes but never quite panned out for that role in helping divide the offense's attention so that Matthews could continue to wreak havoc.
Today, the Packers find themselves in a similar situation. Rashan Gary hasn't quite put up the same statistics, but his relentlessness in getting to the QB is very Matthews-like. Unfortunately for Gary, he finds himself in the same situation, commanding double teams and extra attention from the offense, limiting his effectiveness. Lukas Van Ness was drafted two years ago early in the first round to become Gary's running mate, but in two seasons so far, Van Ness hasn't lived up to the hype quite yet.
Heading into the 2025 season, after an underachieving 2024, a shadow looms over the Packers' pass rush. From the moment the offseason began, an edge rusher was said to be a top need for the Packers. GM Brian Gutekunst must've thrown this memo in the trash as soon as he received it, as the team didn't sign a free agent pass rusher, nor did they spend high draft capital on the position. Instead, Gutekunst echoed optimism that those currently on the roster would step up and be the improvement that the position sorely needs.
After just one week of Training Camp, it seems Lukas Van Ness is ready to be the change the defense needs all by himself.
Off to a good start
There's a lot of hype around the new players on the roster in camp so far. Matthew Golden continues to dazzle, Nate Hobbs looks like he will be a relentless beast, and Isaiah Simmons is showing signs that he could be a factor in the defense this year as well. All of this has sort of overshadowed Lukas Van Ness's camp so far.
1 on 1 drills are all about practicing technique and just trying to beat the guy in front of you. For years, these drills have been home to some of the biggest competitions in training camp between the offensive and defensive lines. Shades of David Bakhtiari facing off against Mike Daniels and the trash talk that would follow come to mind. So far this year, the offensive line has yet to have a day where they get the best of Lukas Van Ness. LVN has faced off against Rasheed Walker and Jordan Morgan, so it's not like he's taking on backups out there, and he's ripping and spinning his way passed them with just about every rep.
It's not just drills either. During 11 on 11's, there have been comments that every other time Jordan Love drops back to pass, Lukas Van Ness is getting some kind of pressure on him. Granted, many of these moments include Love escaping the rush, we have to take into account that with Love wearing the red jersey, LVN needs to pull up a bit to avoid hitting his QB. In regular game situations, perhaps he gets the sack. It's also not just in the pass rush. Tuesday's practice was highlighted by LVN reading a Romeo Doubs end around perfectly and whipping him to the ground with one hand.
Of course, early in camp, you expect the defense to win against the offense often. It's typical as the offense is just beginning to find its rhythm again. But if this performance by Lukas Van Ness continues through camp and heads into the regular season, that could be huge for this Packers defense.
Imagine if you will, Lukas Van Ness commanding attention on one side of the line, giving way to Rashan Gary to take off, having less attention than he has. Finally, we could see both defensive ends put up the statistics to match their potential. Pile on the emergence of Edgerrin Cooper up the middle, and the Packers' defensive front could finally be giving offenses fits.
Lukas Van Ness needs to not just perform in the first week of camp, though; he needs to put it together until hopefully February. But a good camp is a start. We're hoping for a year 3 emergence.
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Greg Meinholz is a lifelong devoted Packer fan. A contributor to CheeseheadTV as well as PackersTalk. Follow him on Twitter @gmeinholz and Bluesky @gmeinholz.bsky.social for Packers commentary, random humor, beer endorsements, and occasional Star Wars and Marvel ramblings.
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Comments (41)
SicSemperTyrannis
July 30, 2025 at 02:21 pm
I'm here for it:
LUKE NESS MONSTER
I'm not saying he's been that yet, but if you look back at film from this past season our pass rush was a lot better than the sentiment usually expressed here. Our defense was top 10 in many categories, and without the gawdy statistics, they really DID look like it.
Our DTs have their role to play in this too. Of course we hope our rookies as well as veteran signings all pan out, and we have to be realistic that that never happens. Even so there's no shortage of talent, the whole team seems hungry for the SB, and our coaching staff has their opportunity to make all the difference in the world ...
GPG!!
Starrbrite
July 30, 2025 at 10:39 pm
Sicsemper: Love the nickname—if he becomes a star, that nickname will stick.
Cheezehead72
July 30, 2025 at 02:30 pm
Yes it would be nice to have LVN provide a better pass rush but the DTs can take some of the double teams off of Gary. Clark had a foot injury last year and was not up to his usual playing level. If he can push the pocket he might get double teams leaving the ends with one on ones. Remember a team will double team a good inside rusher before they double team an outside rusher.
Matthews was a very good rusher but his problem is he tended to over pursue and get behind the QB and then the QB would scramble and throw or run. The front four must stay in position otherwise there is a big gain.
Guam
July 30, 2025 at 02:36 pm
It's the first week of camp people. I am not ready to anoint LVN yet. Would love to see it happen, but color me a sceptic yet. I want to see it happen in the preseason games against the other guy's ones before I am going to jump on the hype train.
Too many memories of last preseason when everyone thought the Packers would lead the league in sacks. Reality bit hard during the season and I need more convincing this preseason.
Coldworld
July 30, 2025 at 05:05 pm
Made my point for me. We’ve had 3 padded practices thus far where a DE actually has some real opposition. It’s good that he’s not looking like a non factor, but let’s wait to see if this flowers into consistent disruption over a few weeks of camp before we start heralding his arrival. Van Ness might be starting, but so far the most notable impact plays (pads status notwithstanding) appear to have been from Cox. That’s not to say both won’t prosper, just an another hint to keep things in context.
BuckyBadger
July 30, 2025 at 03:21 pm
Unfair to say he hasn't lived up to his hype because it was well stated he was going to be a project player. A guy with a high ceiling that was young and raw. A player like that was always going to need time to become effective in one of the more demanding positions on the field. He was the guy that needed a great camp and sounds like he is rounding into shape.
I said like many that edge was a need but I also knew there wasn't much Gute could do about it. Drafting edge is boom or bust very often so you can't just draft there for the sake of picking an edge player. In FA it is rare to get a guy like Peppers who still has something left in the tank and is worth the price tag. LVN was always going to have to be the guy. Hopefully it all pays off come November and December when games start to really matter.
WestCoastPackerBacker
July 30, 2025 at 03:52 pm
Thanks for the common sense take on LVN. When I read he hasn’t lived up to the hype, I thought: what hype? He was a developmental young player who had a bad DC and then a broken thumb his 2nd year after learning a new scheme. He had 4 sacks as a rookie in limited playing time. I don’t get people writing him off. Maybe those are the folks who wanted to trade Davante after his second season.
BuckyBadger
July 31, 2025 at 07:15 am
Too many want instant satisfaction.
LambeauPlain
July 31, 2025 at 09:23 am
It is unusual to draft a first rounder that high and label him a "project". He came to Green Bay labeled as "Hercules" but played more like "Homer"...mostly just a good story with his first few chapters more like an Iliad of a mid rounder.
Hope he finally lives up to expectations.
Leatherhead
July 30, 2025 at 03:31 pm
Look at the top DEs in FA last year. Compare their first two years in the league against Van Ness. At 21, you're going against larger, stronger, more experienced guys. But two years of practice and growth and experience have changed the equation.
jannesbjornson
July 31, 2025 at 07:58 pm
No, let's compare Van Ness to his draft class brethren:
Jalen Carter 10.5 sacks
Will McDonald 13.5
Clancy 11.5
Tuipulotu 13.0
Byron Young 15.0
Kobie Turner 17.0
Derick Hall 8.0
LVN 7.0
Oportunity Costs.
GregC
July 31, 2025 at 08:49 pm
Here are some DEs and OLBs that you left out. I've included one that has had 14 sacks that you somehow missed:
Tyree Wilson--8th overall--8 sacks
Myles Murphy--29th overall--3 sacks
Nolan Smith--31st overall--14 sacks
Isaiah Foskey--40th overall--.5 sack
BJ Ojulari--41st overall--4 sacks
Plus there are a bunch of DTs that I didn't bother to look up, most of whom probably don't have many sacks. You included one DT, Jalen Carter, just because he has a lot of sacks.
I still don't think Van Ness has as many sacks as you would like to see for a 13th overall pick after two seasons, but if you're going to compare him to others, you should list them all instead of just cherry-picking.
jannesbjornson
August 01, 2025 at 04:05 pm
Greg, I purposely left out the OLBs. Van Ness has the DE/DT profile as per his usage. We knew 2023 was a great draft class for pass rushers. In 2024, Jonah Ellis was one of my guys. The whole family is NFL pedigree.
GregC
August 01, 2025 at 09:33 pm
He was an OLB in his rookie season--converted from a DE/DT in college--and then back to DE last year. So the position profile is in-between with him.
splitpea1
July 30, 2025 at 03:31 pm
If this article was a month into the regular season, then we would have reason to be excited. We're talking one week into camp here. I'm sure LVN is quite familiar with his offensive teammates through previous practices and has seen Packer end-arounds before, so what he does at this stage of camp is not particularly newsworthy.
I don't how much MLF and Hafley plan to play their DE starters in preseason, but with the exception of Gary, I would like to see as much playing time for LVN, Sorrell, and Cox as possible. There's a wide open opportunity for someone to grab the lead in this half of the rotation, so may the best man win.
TXCHEESE
July 30, 2025 at 04:30 pm
Agree SP1. I will give LVN some slack, since he really wasn't getting significant reps last year until Smith was traded. I do have a ton of hope that between him, Cox and Sorrell the Packers will have a viable option opposite of Gary. Would not be surprised at all if Cox is the option on obvious passing downs.
GregC
July 30, 2025 at 06:01 pm
So far so good for Van Ness this year, although of course it's way too early to get excited about him. Most fans acknowledge this, which is why I wonder why so many fans are so excited about Isaiah Simmons. I think Van Ness is more likely to pan out than Simmons is.
LambeauPlain
July 31, 2025 at 09:42 am
Some parallels between the two players. Both were high draft picks that have floundered finding consistent production while teasing on the field but not living up to the hype and carving out a defined role.
Simmons first two years at AZ had him logging 159 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 8 TFLs and 2 Int. However in year 3 Isaiah produced his best season with 99 tackles, 4 sacks, 5 TFLs and 2 Ints. However the Cardinals were playing him as an off ball LB, a hybrid LB, pass rusher and a Safety. After the season, AZ gave up on him for some reason and traded the young man to the Giants who were confused how and where to use him at all and cut him after being buried on the depth chart. Gutey pounced.
LVN's first two seasons have him with 65 tackles, 7 sacks, and 14 TFLs. Not bad production but he couldn't surpass Smith or Enagbare...even Cox, Jr has been gaining on him. Maybe year 3 he will finally hit his stride and I feel confident Covington and Hafley won't be confused how or where to deploy him. Maybe Covington is already pushing the right buttons Rebrovich could not find.
I still believe LVN is going to have a huge battle keeping Cox from taking his spot.
egbertsouse
July 30, 2025 at 07:25 pm
He had a couple of good practices. Order the gold jacket!!!
Bearmeat
July 30, 2025 at 08:18 pm
We’ll see. If he has 5-6 sacks by week 7, we’ll know better. They could sure use it though. After Love being elite (which he has shown), LVN being elite would be the second biggest difference maker/pivot player.
Leatherhead
July 31, 2025 at 10:00 am
If he got 5 sacks all season, it would put him well ahead of quite a few of the DEs in the league. Quite a few guys got between 5 and 5.5 sacks last year. Only 17 got 10 or more. A DE who plays the run and gets 5 sacks and plays all 17 games? That's not bad. Yes it'd be much better if he was one of those double digit sack guys but I don't think that'll happen.
He'll be on the field on first down, so that's about half the plays, just like last year. On other downs, where we're looking for pressure, he'll go to the sidelines in favor of Enagbare or Cox or some of those Day 3 guys we drafted. So he'll be be facing a higher percentage of run plays than pass plays and I just don't see that as being real conducive to getting big numbers.
XXXXXXXXXX
Semi-related: This guy, Hendrickson, who led the NFL in sacks last year with 17? Made the Pro-Bowl four years in a row??
In his first THREE years, he played in 30 games, got 6.5 sacks, and was in on 40 tackles.
Van Ness, in TWO years, has played in 34 games, got 7 sacks, and was in on 65 tackles.
Bearmeat
July 31, 2025 at 11:06 am
Hendrickson is very much a late bloomer and outlier. I HOPE LVN matches that, but let’s remember we were all saying the same things about Nick Perry in 2013…
TKWorldWide
July 30, 2025 at 08:47 pm
“Looking good so far” is better than not looking good. LVN knows how important it is for him to really step up this year. We shall see.
brenner
July 31, 2025 at 12:55 am
I was a big fan of Matthew's but it sometimes seemed like his pass rush plan was to get 8 yards upfield and then look for the QB. The Maddenite in me always thought why not line him up at ilb and at least he could blow up the middle of a play instead of one side. Would have been fun to see more of before he lost a step.
GregC
July 31, 2025 at 04:44 am
I liked him better at ILB too, but they only put him there for a season and a half.
BuckyBadger
July 31, 2025 at 07:17 am
He would have been wasted at ILB. The only time he played there was after he had lost step. You don't put great pass rushers in the middle, it is much harder to rush the passer there.
GregC
July 31, 2025 at 07:58 am
I agree with you about his early years. But in his 6th season he had already lost a step. Maybe the hamstring injuries caught up to him. They should've kept him at ILB once he had made the switch.
LambeauPlain
July 31, 2025 at 09:46 am
Matthews last best few years as a Packer after his Edge production slipped badly but was revived at ILB. McCarthy got involved with Capers floundering D and moved him inside and Clay was a difference maker.
Then McCarthy abandoned his involvement with the D and of course Capers moved him back to Edge...and a few years later was released. I will always believe CMIII would have remained a few more years in GB had he stayed at ILB.
Johnkrash
July 31, 2025 at 05:46 am
The proof will be in the pudding. Practice performance is certainly a positive sign but game performance is where it is at in the NFL. I certainly hope that Van Ness is on the road of becoming what GB thought he could be when the team drafted him in the middle of the first round, but we really will not know until the regular season grind begins.
BuckyBadger
July 31, 2025 at 07:18 am
The team didn't think he would be great from year 1 or even year 2. It was well known he was a project player that needed development. This is what that looks like.
LambeauPlain
July 31, 2025 at 09:53 am
I don't agree. I never read any coach on the team stating LVN would need a redshirt shirt year then be eased in to playing Edge or DE by year 3. If that is the expectation of a very high, expensive draft pick then it is a huge reach. Far from it...I did read LaFleur saying he expected far more consistency from LVN before he got more starts and snaps.
Hope Covington is reaching the young man. At least he is developing a spin and rip move and not just a steady reliance on the bull rush he has depended on since college.
ricky
July 31, 2025 at 09:52 am
If Van Ness does put up good numbers this year, will it be because different players develop at different rates? Or will it be seen as a result of the coaching change on the DL? DeMarcus Covington replaced Jason Rebrovich, and suddenly LVN is looking good in camp. He seems to have developed some new moves (again, growth or coaching?) and just be playing with more intensity. This is all good. But it's still early, these are practices, not real games with something on the line. But to have hope that perhaps "the light has come on", for whatever reason, is better than arguing whether LVN is a bust, or a JAG.
LambeauPlain
July 31, 2025 at 09:57 am
It did not take Hafley long to tell LaFluer Ribrovich was not a fit as his DL coach. Barry and LaFleur (as is his proclivity) were slow to make a coaching change and happy with the status quo.
If Covington is finally reaching LVN, I expect he will make a difference for the entire DL room including Cox, Sorrell and even Enagbare.
Coldworld
July 31, 2025 at 10:53 am
If that is indeed true, Hafley may well eclipse LaFleur. Good HCs are good judges of coaches or rapidly become so. That said, great, because it likely won’t just be Van Ness or only individuals: it should extend to overall play through the group.
Leatherhead
July 31, 2025 at 10:29 am
'''''Semi-related: This guy, Hendrickson, who led the NFL in sacks last year with 17? Made the Pro-Bowl four years in a row??
In his first THREE years, he played in 30 games, got 6.5 sacks, and was in on 40 tackles.
Van Ness, in TWO years, has played in 34 games, got 7 sacks, and was in on 65 tackles.'''''
Calling LVN a bust after two years would clearly be premature evaluation. These youngsters coming in from college are playing against bigger, stronger, more physically developed, and more experienced OL. I mean, would you expect some rookie DE to come in and have success against Tom? Of course not.
Van Ness will be on the field on first down, Some times, he'll stay on the field after first down, and sometimes, he'll come off in favor of Enagbare or Cox or Simmons. I don't think that's going to lead to "good numbers" , as regards getting a lot of sacks. That's not his job as much as discouraging the first down run is.
When teams pass on first down, that'll be his only/best chance to get a sack. VanNess, Gary, Clark, with occasional blitzes by Cooper and Walker . Those are the guys that'll be on the field on first down. Probably/possibly Stackhouse. McDuffie......that's our preferred 4-3 starting 7, IMO. You could argue for Wyatt over Clark, I suppose, but either way you want at least one of them on the field at all times.
When we have a team at 3rd and 10, it's probably something like Cooper-Walker-Brooks-Wyatt-Gary-Enagbare as our front six. I suppose we will find places for guys like Simmons and Cox if they can get to the QB.
MytQ
July 31, 2025 at 04:22 pm
Interesting that NO let him walk in free agency after having a very good year 4.
GregC
July 31, 2025 at 10:58 am
If LVN improves, it may be due to the new position coach, but it will more likely be due to LVN needing a few years to get up to speed, as most people expected.
Sapgooey
July 31, 2025 at 11:15 am
To quote Kevin Greene, “It is Time!”
Major Snafu
July 31, 2025 at 03:07 pm
I supported this guy for two seasons now and like many its showtime. Nothing else to say, put up or show you were the wrong pick by Gutt.
Major Snafu
July 31, 2025 at 03:23 pm
IMO I always thought Mac used Mathews the wrong way. I saw him as an Urlacher patrolling the centet and terrorizing QB's up th middle. Mac knowing they were not spending money on a real de, fit him in as a cheaper replacement.
Had the team gotten a pass rushing DE with AMathews in the middle, I think we would have had another SB or two.
The pack played cheap ball and tht cost thm chmpionhips.
You had the elemnts in place but didnt fill in the key piece pass rushing without Mathews.
Oppy
July 31, 2025 at 08:40 pm
Wait- you had Clay Matthews figured to be a tampa 2 middle linebacker?
...Whaaaat? I don't know about all of that.