Paul Bretl | 8/11/2024
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Packers’ defensive end Lukas Van Ness put together an impressive performance in the team’s preseason opener against the Cleveland Browns, perhaps foreshadowing what’s to come in his second NFL season.
Against both the run and the pass, Van Ness made his present felt on Saturday. In only 14 pass rush snaps, Van Ness recorded four pressures and a sack. In the run game, he had three tackles for loss, along with a few other plays where he funneled the ball carrier back inside.
“I thought guys competed hard,” said LaFleur post game of the defense’s performance. “It’s not like it was an overly complicated game plan. (Jeff) Hafley had a very minimal call sheet but I think that was by design, obviously. We just wanted to see our guys go out there and complete, play fast, play physical and run to the football.”
We often hear about and discuss the Year 2 leap for NFL players. With a year of experience under their belts and a full offseason to focus on their craft rather than preparing for the draft, the biggest developmental leap frequently occurs that second season.
For Van Ness, we began to see that growth take place over the course of his rookie season. Through Week 11 of 2023, Van Ness had seven total pressures, with five of them coming in Week 1 against Chicago and there being eight games where he didn’t record any pressures.
However, from Week 12 through the remainder of the season–nine games–Van Ness had 15 pressures and five sacks. Out of 113 eligible edge rushers during that span, Van Ness ranked 34th in pass-rush productivity–a formula from PFF that combines sacks, hits, and hurries relative to the number of pass rush opportunities.
“It’s just coming into the building and having a year under your belt,” said Van Ness at the start of training camp. “I heard this, I think Bullard said it, comfortable is not a good word to use just because you’re fighting for your job, you never want to be comfortable because you’re growing and always trying to get to the next position.
“But Year 2 jump, as everybody knows, that’s a big year for me and I’m excited. I know the goals that I have set for myself and I’m excited to go out there and prove it. But just having a little bit more confidence in myself, even coming into the building.”
Also contributing to a potential leap for Van Ness will be Jeff Hafley’s defensive system, which should suit his skill set well. Rather than being responsible for two-gaps and having to read-and-react to what’s happening, Hafley asks his defensive front to attack. While, of course, there is more nuance to it, in short, it is the job of the defensive front to get off the ball and into the backfield as quickly as possible.
“Just getting back to my hand in the ground,” said Van Ness about Hafley’s defense. “Something I kind of transitioned naturally to at the end of the year last year with coach Barry’s defense. But the 4-3 style, having a little bit more of an attack-style defense, getting after the quarterback, making TFLs and negative plays. That’s a mentality I play much better in and having a little bit of having the ability to transfer between different roles and positions, which I did at Iowa.”
If the Packers defense as a whole is going to improve in 2024, it starts with more consistent play upfront. In 2023, the Packers’ pass rush ran very hot and cold, recording seven games where they pressured the quarterback on 45 percent of more of his dropbacks, which is an excellent rate. However, on the flip side, there were also seven games where Green Bay pressured the opposing quarterback on fewer than 30 percent of his dropbacks, which is the opposite of excellent.
Then as we all know, the run game continued to provide this unit with issues, with the Packers ranking 23rd in yards per carry allowed, along with giving up a league-high four games of 200-plus rushing yards.
Success for any defense starts up front. The best way to slow any offensive play is with a quick push up the middle. Slowing the run puts the offense in obvious passing situations, giving the defense the advantage in coverage and allowing the front to pin its ears back, while pressure leads to mistakes that can hopefully be capitalized on.
A jump in Year 2 for Van Ness will go a long way in helping the Packers’ accomplish this. In addition to Van Ness’ play against Cleveland, throughout training camp, we’ve seen the entire defensive end position group, from Rashan Gary, Preston Smith, JJ Enagbare, and Brenton Cox, all getting into the backfield and making things difficult for the Packers’ offense in practice.
That kind of depth will allow for a heavy rotation, helping to keep players fresh throughout a game, while wearing down the offensive line. It will also give Hafley the opportunity to mix and match the rotations based on the opponent and putting his defenders in the best position to make plays. This can even be taken a step further if there is going to be movement between the defensive end and defensive tackle position groups.
All of which should result in more disruption, and at the end of the day, that’s the name of the game in the NFL.
“We’ve just harped on depth and having guys to rotate in and out and everybody having the ability to affect the game and be an impact player,” said Van Ness. “As you said, whether it’s Preston or RG or myself or JJ, you know there’s a whole list of guys that can rotate and play any position and I think it’s a testament to the depth and the ability we have to go out and succeed.”