For three seasons the case against Green Bay Packers pass rusher Lukas Van Ness was simple: the tools were there but the production wasn’t. This season has been different so far. Against the New York Jets in Week 2, the production arrived, and the film shows specific reasons for it rather than luck. Van Ness recorded nine tackles, four tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, and four QB hits in a 20-17 overtime win. For scale, in nine games last season he had 1.5 sacks and three tackles for loss.
The production
came, and the tape shows specific reasons why it came. But even more important is where he is showing up that the stat sheet doesn’t necessarily reflect. So far he has recorded 12 tackles, six assists, four tackles for loss, 3 sacks, and four QB hits, while registering 10 total pressures (3 sacks, 4 hits, 3 hurries). Per Pro Football Focus, he has a 20.7% pass rush win rate in true pass sets.
Let’s look at how he’s doing it.
Setting the edge in the run game
First, Van Ness’ ability in the run game this season is outstanding. Against the Jets, he said the defense expected all week that New York would run the ball in the rain and try to win at the line of scrimmage. Van Ness was prepared. The result was that Breece Hall and Braelon Allen combined for 36 yards on 21 carries.
He won his run game reps in several different ways. In the first quarterm he pushed tight end Jelani Woods aside to help tackle Hall for a 3-yard loss on first-and-10.
In the third quarter he threw right tackle Armand Membou to the ground and then helped bring Hall down for another loss of 3 on second-and-6. Beating a tight end is expected. Putting a first-round tackle on the ground is the kind of play that makes offensive coordinators rethink their run game.
His game against Minnesota perhaps foreshadowed what would see this season. Here, Van Ness completely tosses tight end Josh Oliver aside on the Vikings’ outside toss play. The offense on this play is trying to pin the edges inside but Van Ness quickly read the play and the block, and forced the running back to bounce back inside where Van Ness chased him down for the stop.
In the Falcons game, he had a couple more stops and solid run defense grade despite the defense overall being below average against the Atlanta run game. He’s perhaps their most reliable edge setter at this point.
4th quarter sequence in week 2
It’s only been three games with the Packers sitting at 1-2, but in that win he was one of the primary reasons why they closed the game out late. The late stand shows Van Ness doing three different jobs on consecutive downs.
With 2:40 left in a tie game in the fourth quarter and the Jets facing second-and-10 from their own 41, he dropped into coverage and tackled Garrett Wilson two yards short of the first down.
On third-and-2 he stopped Hall a yard short.
On fourth-and-1 he beat tight end Jeremy Ruckert inside off the edge and stuffed Allen. After the game, Van Ness gave some insight into how that play went down. He said the call was a pressure from the right side, which let him pinch inside, and he saw the back step up as he came through the backfield.
He described his assignment as to “get in that C gap between the tackle and the tight end” against a down block. The pressure call allowed the defense to get bigger bodies inside to jam up the run with Van Ness getting into the C-gap and the linebackers getting to the edges as the force defenders.
The stop was a well-designed call by Jonathan Gannon that Van Ness executed at full speed, not just one player improvising. It should also be mentioned that Jonathan Ford also helped blow up the play but received no statistical credit.
Pass rush productivity
We can’t talk about Van Ness’ pass rush performance without first acknowledging a pretty big shortcoming that he has worked to improve on, which may be the most important driver of change for him in the long term.
Offsides penalties have always been a problem for him. Reports out of Packers camp stated that he jumped too often in practice, which carried over into week one against Minnesota. After the game he said the team has stressed ignoring the quarterback’s cadence, and he is now timing his rush off the left tackle’s movement.
Reacting to the blocker’s first movement instead of the snap count gives up a little quickness in exchange for eliminating offsides. But in three games so far, he has had no visible loss of explosiveness in the technique tweak. If that holds, it fixes one of his biggest problems.
Here in week three, Van Ness gets Jake Matthews turned parallel to the sideline with a jab step inside before swatting away his contact and sliding around the edge. He displays unmatched power on his rush and while he doesn’t have a lot of pass rush moves, what he does utilize can be very effective.
He executes a chop and rip move here that is equal parts raw power and perimeter speed. His chop of the blocker’s arm neutralizes the blocker’s ability to lock him up with their outside hand.
To get around the edge, he rips under the outside arm of the blocker and takes him for a ride. The pressure on Geno Smith forces him to get rid of the ball quickly, forcing the offense to take a 3-yard loss.
His best rushes had a clear structure. He bull-rushed left tackle Olu Fashanu back into Smith, then changed direction and took out Smith’s legs when the quarterback stepped up.
Resetting when the quarterback climbs the pocket is something power rushers often fail to do, and it turns a pressure into a sack.
He also won without power. In overtime on second-and-16 he beat Membou with a swim move to help sack Smith for a 9-yard loss. That overtime sack mattered: it left the Jets facing third-and-30, and the punt set up Trey Smack’s winning field goal.
Outlook
The level of play from Van Ness is notable because with Micah Parsons out, he had no star teammate drawing double teams away from him. These were true wins he generated on a line where he is perhaps the best pass rusher available and that’s the best the Packers could have asked for. It didn’t pan out in week three but that was less about Van Ness than it was just a total team letdown.
Whether the opposing game plan is run-heavy or not, it suits his game just fine if this is how he’ll produce going forward if remains healthy. The next test is whether his pass-rush wins hold up against offenses that throw more. We’ll get to see more of Van Ness one-on-one with opposing blockers when Parsons comes back too. But the coaching staff and fans have to be encouraged by his fast start.
