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Entering Year 3 in 2025, Green Bay Packers edge rusher Lukas Van Ness needed to take a serious leap forward after a pedestrian first two seasons in the NFL.
Despite injuries curtailing his campaign, the former 13th overall pick finally showed signs of real progress and the ability that encouraged the Packers to select him in the first round back in 2023.
Looking at his percentile ranks among eligible edge rushers in 2024 compared to 2025, the stats tell a story of Van Ness taking just about the biggest jump anyone could have hoped for.
He improved in every single statistical category across the board, both as a pass rusher and a run defender, while also playing more snaps per game than he did in either of his first two seasons.
His 27 pressures in just 178 pass rush snaps were more than in 2024 or 2023, when he had 256 and 238 pass rush snaps respectively.
Perhaps the primary reason for Van Ness’s 2025 season going under the radar – beyond the fact he missed eight games with injury – is the fact he did not have the sack production to go along with his overall disruption.
Van Ness only had three sacks per PFF, down from six in 2023 and four in 2024, but ranked fifth among 124 eligible edge rushers in quarterback hits per snap.
He had eight quarterback hits across the 10 games and 178 pass rush snaps he played in, which was as many as he had in 2023 and 2024 combined, spanning 494 snaps.
This indicates Van Ness was close to making a lot more splash plays and improving his sack numbers, and the hope will be he is able to finish more regularly this season.
Van Ness also made huge strides in the run game in 2025. He ranked ninth in tackles per run defense snap at the EDGE position, did not miss a single tackle against the run, and ranked fourth in run stop rate, which are tackles that result in a failure for the offense.
After ranking below average in average depth of tackle in the previous two seasons, Van Ness made his presence felt closer to the line of scrimmage last season, ranking 33rd in that metric.
With Micah Parsons primarily on the field to rush the passer and impact the game that way, it is important his running mate is a reliable force against the run, and Van Ness looks ready to take on that role in 2026, setting up his All-Pro teammate for success once he is back on the field.
The question is whether Van Ness can be a lead dog and anchor Green Bay’s pass rush in the meantime. It remains unclear how many games Parsons will miss to start the year, but at minimum he is expected to be out for the first four weeks.
The edge rushers behind Van Ness are pretty unproven, so it will be on him to set the standard in the early part of the season.
After making the leap in 2025, there is a chance of a true breakout season for the former first rounder in Year 4, and that would be a real shot in the arm for the Packers defense.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Stats show Lukas Van Ness made the leap for Packers in 2025
