Packers Edge Lukas Van Ness: No. 4 Player in 2026 Faces Immense Pressure

Packers On SI is counting down the Green Bay Packers’ top 25 players for the 2026 season. This series continues with our No. 4 player, Lukas Van Ness.

In a previous story in this series about Jordan Morgan, we used the Kevin Greene line from Super Bowl XLV. “It. Is. Time.”

Because Greene said that to his young edge rusher Clay Matthews, we should have saved it for this story about young edge rusher Lukas Van Ness.

It is time for Van Ness to be the impact player the Green Bay Packers hoped they were selecting when they drafted him in the first round of the 2023 draft. Rashan Gary rightly was criticized (and traded) following last year’s 7.5-sack season. Well, Van Ness has 8.5 sacks in three seasons.

Given the state of the depth chart, the Packers could be doomed if Van Ness doesn’t have a breakout season.

Why Lukas Van Ness Is So Important

The depth chart tells the story.

Micah Parsons, the indomitable superstar who had 12.5 sacks during an All-Pro debut season, is expected to miss most of the first half of the season. Following his season-ending knee injury at Denver, the Packers did not win another game.

Gary was traded to Dallas after last year’s incredible disappearing act. After Game 7 at Pittsburgh, Gary led the NFL with 7.5 sacks. He didn’t have another sack the rest of the season.

Kingsley Enagbare signed with the Jets in free agency. He had two sacks last season, which isn’t many but it’s still more than Van Ness.

The Packers had 36 sacks last season. Those three edge rushers combined for 22 of them. Somebody is going to have to sack the quarterback. That somebody almost certainly has to be Van Ness, who had 1.5 sacks during an injury-plagued third season. Otherwise, this season could be doomed before Parsons returns to the lineup.

Lukas Van Ness’s Strengths and Weaknesses

Van Ness’s strength is his, well, strength. He’s always set a tough edge against the run, which has made him a valuable role player. Last season, when he missed eight games in a nine-game stretch due to a foot injury, Green Bay’s run defense was 0.36 yards per snap better when he was on the field. The difference was 0.12 in 2024 and 0.41 in 2023, so that’s three years of impact play that really doesn’t show up in the stats.

While he had only 1.5 sacks last season – he was hurt on the full sack against Cincinnati’s Joe Flacco – the analytical numbers are promising. He rushed the passer 140 times. Of the 114 edge defenders with at least that many pass-rushing opportunities, he was a respectable 29th in pass-rush win rate, according to Pro Football Focus. That ranked just behind Josh Sweat of the Cardinals.

Chicago Bears wide receiver Luther Burden III (10) is tackled by Green Bay Packers defensive end Lukas van Ness (90). | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

PFF has a metric called pass-rush productivity, which takes sacks, hits and hurries per pass-rushing snap. Even with the meager sack total, Van Ness ranked 23rd, which was better than Sweat.

Nobody is a bigger believer in what Van Ness can become than Parsons.

“I definitely think I’m going to my hands full with Luke on who’s going to be the best,” Parsons said during minicamp. “I believe in him. I think sometimes he looks into y’all and that gets to him, but I think he can be as great as he wants to be.”

Van Ness appreciates Parsons’ leadership and belief.

“Much respect to Micah, and those are some big words to live up to,” he said. “More than anything, it’s good to have Micah back in the building, obviously some very nice words and just a really good guy to have in my corner.”

What Happens If Lukas Van Ness Gets Hurt

The Packers have some interesting potential pass rushers. Brenton Cox had a strong finish to the 2024 season. Barryn Sorrell, a fourth-round pick last year, had a strong finish to the 2025 season. Collin Oliver, a fifth-round pick last year, showed some juice in his lone NFL game last year against the Vikings. Dani Dennis-Sutton, a fourth-round pick this year, was an impact player at Penn State.

But all they are is potential. Is any offensive tackle on Green Bay’s schedule losing sleep about the prospect of facing Sorrell or Dennis-Sutton?

Not a chance.

Van Ness, whose career high in sacks was four as a rookie, is about the only player resembling a proven pass rusher.

“After the season, when you go back and you watch all the film, and you just see we used him in a lot of different ways, whether it was outside on the edge or kicking it down inside, he was a disruptive presence,” coach Matt LaFleur said.

The Packers are betting on him to be more than disruptive this season. They did not dive into a strong group of veteran pass rushers during free agency. Really, the biggest move this offseason was flipping the switch on Van Ness’ fifth-year option, meaning he’ll be under contract through the 2027 season.

“Obviously exciting,” he said of the option. “It feels good and it’s one of those situations where it’s like you’ve still got to wait another year, so it obviously feels good, but really happy to be back in Green Bay for another year. More than anything, just focused on the 2026 season and what’s to come.”

Why We Ranked Lukas Van Ness Here

The pressure is on Van Ness to create pressure and carnage. Without Parsons, he is the player who has to rise to the occasion.

“At the end of the day, I think pressure is a privilege to have,” he said. “We’re obviously in a blessed position where there’s people watching our spot and people are obviously going to have their own opinions but, at the end of the day, I think you’ve just got to believe in yourself and believe in what you’re hearing in the building from your coaches and from your circle and other players in the defensive room.

“I have a great support staff around me, the coaches, the players, and I think we have a strong group of guys.”

After dealing with a broken thumb in 2024 and then the injured foot in 2025, Van Ness was arguably the MVP of the offseason practices. He was about as dominant as a defensive lineman can be during noncontact practices. What was encouraging is that, A, he was healthy and, B, he was excellent even though his bread-and-butter power moves were off limits.

“Not the way I would have envisioned it going,” he said of the injuries. “It’s part of the game, part of football and I think I’ve learned a lot about myself internally. There’s a lot of noise out there, a lot of distractions and just focusing on guys in the building and the task at hand of just winning Super Bowl.

“I’m feeling good, I’m feeling healthy, I’m getting back to normal again and I feel good with where I’m at.”

Every year, I rank every player on the Packers roster based on talent, importance, salary etc. I will again this year, too.

For now, let's cut right to the chase. Here is a quick-hitting look at the 2⃣5⃣ most important players for the 2026 season.⬇️https://t.co/ezDAkl7vmd
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) June 17, 2026

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