Three Concerning Questions for Packers, Who Will Be Living on the Edge

In Aerosmith’s Livin’ on the Edge, legendary singer and pass-rushing expert Steven Tyler sings about Chicken Little and the sky falling.

You don’t have to be Chicken Little to see the sky could be falling on the Green Bay Packers’ defense without Micah Parsons to start the season.

Until Parsons is back on the field following last year’s torn ACL, the Packers absolutely will be living on the edge because of the state of their edge defenders. The biggest question entering training camp is whether they will have enough impact coming off the edge. We break that huge question into three smaller questions in Part 7 of this series.

Will Lukas Van Ness Have Impact Season?

Lukas Van Ness was our offseason MVP. It seemed like he spent half of OTAs and minicamp invading Jordan Love’s personal space. That was a positive development, to state the obvious, but what does it matter?

Harassing Jordan Love in June, obviously, isn’t the same as harassing Kyler Murray on Sept. 13.

In three seasons, Van Ness hasn’t done enough harassing with only 8.5 sacks. Young players – especially first-round picks – should steadily progress in their careers. Instead, Van Ness went from four sacks and eight tackles for losses as a rookie in 2023 to three sacks and six TFLs in 2024 to 1.5 sacks and three TFLs in 2025. He missed half of last season with a foot injury, though the production wasn’t exactly spectacular when he was on the field.

There have been reasons. This will be his third coordinator in four seasons. Plus, a thumb injury essentially had him playing one-handed for most of the 2024 season and the foot injury robbed him of the opportunity to build upon the sack he had against Cincinnati in Week 6 of last season.

“I think that with the last two years – two years ago dealing with my thumb and then this past year dealing with the foot injury – not the way I would have envisioned it going,” Van Ness said at minicamp.

“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 the 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.”

During the duration of his three-year career, Van Ness is tied for 140th in sacks and 119th in quarterback hits. Rashan Gary had 24 sacks during that span. There are defensive backs with more sacks than Van Ness.

And he’s going to lead the charge during the first half of the season?

Yes, Parsons said.

“I think by the end of this season, if Luke stays healthy, I think he’ll probably be the favorite,” Parsons said. “That’s how much confidence I have in him.”

The Packers desperately need Van Ness to become the player they hoped they were drafting because, at this point, they don’t have anyone else.

Will the Young Players Be Solution?

Green Bay Packers edge Brenton Cox Jr. (57) rushes against Seattle Seahawks offensive tackle Michael Jerrell last preseason. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Micah Parsons probably is going to miss the first six or seven games of the season. He had 12.5 sacks during a blockbuster debut season. He’s not the only loss to the group, though.

Of the team’s 36 sacks last season, 24.5 of them came from players who will miss the start of the season (Parsons) or are no longer on the team (Rashan Gary, Kingsley Enagbare, Quay Walker). So, even if Lukas Van Ness has the best season of his career and hits the lofty expectations that came with being the 13th pick of the draft, he can’t do it alone.

The Packers have an intriguing group of young edge defenders.

Brenton Cox, who went undrafted in 2023, was the overwhelming winner from the 2024 trade of Preston Smith. During the final seven games, he had four sacks. He missed most of last season with a groin injury but rushed effectively when on the field.

Barryn Sorrell was a fourth-round pick in 2025. He wasn’t a great pass rusher at Texas and wasn’t as a rookie. Of the 128 edge players with at least 111 pass-rushing opportunities, he was 117th in pass-rush win rate, according to PFF. But an offseason spent with Parsons could set him up for a big Year 2 jump. If nothing else, he’ll replace Enagbare against the run.

“Barryn, he already has the mindset that he’s going to be a top-tier player, and I love that about him,” Parsons said.

Collin Oliver was a fifth-round pick in 2025 who had excellent pass-rush production to start his career at Oklahoma State. However, he missed most of his final season with a foot injury and all but Week 18 of his rookie season with a hamstring injury. He spent part of the offseason with Parsons and Sorrell but missed OTAs and minicamp due to injury.

Dani Dennis-Sutton was a fourth-round pick this year after back-to-back seasons of 8.5 sacks to close his career at Penn State.

Can at least two of those four players join Van Ness in building a winning pass rush until Parsons returns? If so, the Packers could be in good shape to push into the playoffs. And beyond.

Will Packers Have to Add Veteran?

Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love (10) passes while being rushed by Arizona Cardinals outside linebacker Josh Sweat. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The alternative is Lukas Van Ness is just a guy and the young pass rushers can only get to the quarterback periodically.

If that’s the case, at some point during training camp, will Gutekunst have to look to the outside for help?

There are some quality edge rushers available in free agency with Joey Bosa, Jadeveon Clowney and Hasson Reddick. The Cardinals closed the door on the rumored possibility of trading for Josh Sweat, who like Reddick thrived under new defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon. The Cardinals could reverse course on that, though it’s anyone’s guess on whether that would be for the start of the season or closer to the trade deadline. If it’s the latter, the Packers might have Parsons back on the field.

Headed into training camp, the Packers have who they have. Is that enough without Parsons?

“100 percent,” Parsons replied.

“Just looking at the depth that we have, between K.B., Hargrave, D-Wy., to see all three of those guys are going to be on the field at the same time, that’s enough right there,” he said of defensive tackles Karl Brooks, Javon Hargrave and Devonte Wyatt. “And between Barryn, Collin, how they’ve looked, and I see Dani and I see Luke and I think between all of us, I think Luke is someone that people sleep on the most, and I don’t know why.”

Related: Here are three questions about the receivers, offensive line, tight ends, running backs and quarterbacks. The defense leads off with the defensive tackles.

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