The recipe for Green Bay Packers defensive quarterback Lukas Van Ness to make a jump in his sophomore season is certainly there, and the odds are stacked against him.
The first part of the equation that will lend a hand with a potential jump in 2024 is the experience Van Ness gained during his first season in the NFL, along with a full offseason where he could focus on his craft rather than preparing for the NFL draft, which was a thing last year.
This self-confidence that comes from knowing what you need to do every day to be prepared to compete on Sunday, as well as adapting to the pace of the game at the NFL level, are critical elements that can play a key role in a youthful player’s development.
Even during Van Ness’s rookie season, we saw this happen as his production improved significantly down the stretch. According to PFF, Van Ness had seven pressures in Week 11, but five of them came in Week 1 against the Bears, meaning there were eight games in which he didn’t record a single pressure.
Since Week 12, however, Van Ness has had 15 pressures and five sacks in the Packers’ last nine games. At the time, Van Ness ranked 34th out of 113 eligible edge rushers in PFF’s pass rush productivity metric.
“In my opinion, the biggest leap of my NFL career was from the beginning to the end of college,” defensive line coach Jason Rebrovich said.
“Every guy you see, fortunately I was around, I say me, we, us, the organization, the coaches, from Year 1 to Year 2, that’s the moment when that light, that’s the moment when it clicks. Because at this level, as you heard me say, it’s about knowing your fit. It’s about conservation knowledge. It’s about knowing the pattern. You have to know where the fit is.”
If the experience gained is the first part of what will hopefully be a breakout year for Van Ness, Part II is a fresh defense being implemented under Jeff Hafley that should fit Van Ness’ skill set quite well.
The Packers — or defensive backs, as they’re now called — will mostly line up with their hands in the dirt, which is where Van Ness spent most of his snaps as a freshman at Iowa. That’s where he gets some extra comfort.
It is also a defensive scheme that takes a more simplistic approach to the defensive front. Under Joe Barry, the Packers used a two-gap system in the trenches. Since each linebacker was responsible for two gaps, his job was to read what the offensive line was doing and what was happening on defense, and then fill the more vulnerable gap he was responsible for.
However, in Hafley’s system, each member of the defensive line only has one gap that needs to be addressed in what Rebrovich called the “offensive front.” It is not my intention to oversimplify the tasks that are asked of these players, but in compact, their job is to get rid of the ball as quickly as possible and go out for it.
“I’m excited about Lukas,” Matt LaFleur said, “and I think a lot of times you see a lot of guys who are quick to get there make huge leaps from Class 1 to Class 2. So he’s a guy who’s getting a ton of work. I think his body looks great. I think it’s unfortunate that he broke his thumb, but he’s getting more and more playing time and he’s someone we’re definitely excited about.
Like Van Ness, LaFleur likes the depth the Packers have on defense. The team played both warm and cool last season, with seven games where they pressured the quarterback on more than 45 percent of his turnovers and seven games where they pressured him on less than 30 percent of his snaps.
Van Ness’ sophomore leap, something many successful NFL players make, could go a long way toward increasing the cohesion of this offensive unit, and the opportunity appears to be there.
