No. 20 — Lukas Van Ness

The Green Bay Packers went 11-6 last season, sweeping the NFC West and the AFC South along the way.

Overall, though, no one in the building was happy.

The Packers failed to build on their terrific finish to the 2023 campaign, settled for the No. 7 seed in the NFC playoffs, and lost a Wild Card game to eventual Super Bowl champion Philadelphia.

Afterwards, general manager Brian Gutekunst turned up the heat on everybody in the building.

“We need to continue to ramp up our sense of urgency,” Gutekunst said. “I think it’s time we started competing for championships.”

Those are fair expectations.

The Packers return 20 of 22 starters, and appear to have upgraded the roster via free agency and the draft. With several third and fourth year players trending upward, Green Bay should be poised to make a move.

“I think they’re ready,” Gutekunst said.

Now, it’s time for the Packers to prove their G.M. right.

Green Bay’s first training camp practice is July 23. Between now and then I will count down the ‘30 Most Important Packers’ heading into the 2025 campaign.

At No. 20 is defensive end Lukas Van Ness.

No. 20

Lukas Van Ness, DE

Last season

The Packers switched from a 3-4 front to a 4-3 base defense last year. That meant Van Ness moved to a traditional defensive end after playing outside linebacker in 2023.

Van Ness also played with a broken right thumb in 2024 that hampered him throughout the season. Van Ness finished the 2024 campaign with disappointing numbers of three sacks, six quarterback hits and six tackles for loss.

To protect his broken thumb last year, Van Ness lined up almost exclusively on the right side. That meant Van Ness worked against strictly left tackles, who are typically the best pass blockers on the offensive line.

“I was really limited last year,” Van Ness said. “I could only play on the right side for the most part, due to this broken thumb. Now I can flip back and play on both sides of the defensive line, which I’m really excited about.”

Career to date

Van Ness, the Packers’ first round pick in 2023, played 32.9% of the snaps during his rookie season. Van Ness played in all 17 games that year, recorded 32 tackles (24 solo), eight tackles for loss (tied for No. 2 on the team), had one pass defensed, four sacks and 10 quarterback hits (fifth the team).

Van Ness appeared in both postseason contests, recorded five tackles (four solo), a sack, a tackle for a loss and a quarterback hit.

Van Ness got better as the year went on, recording four sacks in his final eight games (including playoffs).

“It’s hard to put into words,” Van Ness said at the end of 2023 about his improvement. “Not even as a player, as a person I’ve matured so much — really grown up. I’m light years ahead of where I was.”

Van Ness, nicknamed Hercules, never started a game during his two seasons at Iowa.

Van Ness posted 6.5 sacks and 11 tackles for loss in 2022 and was named second-team all-Big 10. As a freshman in 2021, Van Ness had 7.0 sacks and 8.5 tackles for loss.

Van Ness ran the 40-yard dash in 4.58 seconds at the 2023 NFL Combine. He had the largest hands (11 inches) in the defensive line group that year. His arms are also an impressive 34 inches long.

Outlook

This is an enormous year for Van Ness. And the Packers would love it if Van Ness winds up being among their 10 most important players.

Green Bay’s pass rush lacked consistency in 2024, and one way for the Packers to improve up front would be for Van Ness to take a major jump.

Van Ness played 39.3% of the defensive snaps last year, which was fewer than fellow defensive end Kingsley Enagbare (46.9%). While Enagbare is a serviceable player, he lacks many of the athletic traits Van Ness possesses.

So Green Bay needs the 23-year-old Van Ness to begin turning promise into production.

“My expectations are always going to be higher for myself than anybody else and I’ve naturally always been that way,” Van Ness said. “I’m hard on myself, but that ultimately is what pushes me and drives me to be a great player. So, my mindset isn’t going to change. I’ve still got to come to work, compete for my job, compete for a starting spot and I’m excited to do that this upcoming year.”

They Said It …

“It’s important for all our guys, including Lukas. Again, we talked a little bit about we need to affect the quarterback more in our front four, with just four players, and Lukas is a big part of that. He does everything he can. He’s everything you want in a professional as far as his work ethic and what he puts into it, and I expect him to take a big jump this year.” — Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst on Van Ness

“Yeah, I think situationally you can do that. I think in known passing situations there’s some thought around that. A lot of it’s gonna be dependent on everybody else, as well. Lukas has shown a lot of growth and I’m excited to see him once we get pads on, and really all those guys how they compete.” — Packers coach Matt LaFleur on Van Ness rushing from inside as well as outside

“I think Lukas is a guy that’s improving every year. He’s a guy that’s coming in every single day working his butt off in the classroom and on the practice field. He’s making daily improvements … and for him, I think the sky’s the limit, and I’m looking forward to working with him.” — Packers defensive line coach DeMarcus Covington on Van Ness

THE TOP 30

• No. 30 — RB MarShawn Lloyd

• No. 29 — WR Dontayvion Wicks

• No. 28 — S Javon Bullard

• No. 27 — WR Savion Williams

• No. 26 — LB Isaiah McDuffie

• No. 25 — OL Jordan Morgan

• No. 24 — WR Matthew Golden

• No. 23 — CB Carrington Valentine

• No. 22 — WR Romeo Doubs

• No. 21 — QB Malik Willis