With superstar edge rusher Micah Parsons expected to miss the start of the season while working his way back from a torn left ACL, the pressure is on for the rest of the Green Bay Packers' front line. Although everyone in the trenches for Green Bay will be tested, none will face a bigger responsibility than Lukas Van Ness entering his fourth NFL season.
Standing at 6-foot-5, the versatile first-round pick from 2023 has already flashed his wide-ranking skill set both from the edge and as a linebacker early in his Packers career. While the raw numbers haven't necessarily jumped off the page, the eye test has supported that he has the size, speed, and tools to be an impact player for years to come in Green Bay.
As outlined by Mark Oldacres of The Packers Wire, the underlying data shows that Van Ness made wholesale improvements to his game year-over-year from his sophomore season in 2024 to a 2025 campaign in which he only played nine regular-season games. We saw him jump into the 90th percentile or better in vital categories, such as QB hits per snap, stop percentage, pass rush win percentage, and tackles per snap.
Lukas Van Ness 2024 v 2025.
— Mark Oldacres (@MarkOldacres) July 22, 2026
That my friends, is what they call making the leap. pic.twitter.com/jOqvxagRMs
The visual representation of his year-over-year growth is quite staggering, but it also poses some interesting questions about what his role will look like next season, and whether his anticipated rise in both snaps and overall involvement will translate to success on the field — especially during that early stretch without Parsons on the field.
This is where Lukas Van Ness proves to Packers fans that his leap wasn't reliant on Micah Parsons.
Let's cut to the chase — Lukas Van Ness deserves all the praise he'll receive for this statistical improvement, but the context is very important. His team added a generational pass rusher in Micah Parsons, and all his underlying numbers took a massive jump. So was his improvement caused by his true talent and value to the team, or did playing next to a force of nature simply make his job easier?
It's hard to say until Van Ness himself goes out and proves it next season. He'll be relied upon to an extent that he never has been before at the NFL level for that first month or so before Parsons returns to the field. Opening their season against the Minnesota Vikings, New York Jets, and Atlanta Falcons should be a perfect test for Van Ness, facing off against teams that are expected to be competitive, but also aren't putting fear in the hearts of their opponents.
There's no better proving ground for Lukas Van Ness than a stretch where the Packers will rely on him to be their most impactful pass rusher. Let's see how he responds to the challenge.
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