Following the departure of the 18-years quarterback Aaron Rodgers, the Green Bay Packers are on a mission to ensure a successful transition period in the upcoming season keeping A-Rod’s former backup quarterback Jordan Love at the helm.
Green Bay’s outside linebacker Lukas Van Ness has emerged as a promising player with the skills and attributes needed to potentially align with their defensive philosophy and has garnered high praise during off-season workouts.
Packers coach hails Van Ness’ potential impact
Van Ness, nicknamed ‘Hercules’ at the University of Iowa, was selected with No. 13 in the 2023 NFL Draft, however, his versatility, patience, and coachability have already caught the attention of the Packers linebacker coach Jason Rebrovich and he thinks the 21-year-old displayed all the qualities the Packers are seeking to bolster their defensive unit,
“He possesses everything that we’re looking for. His height, weight, speed – all those tangible things,”
The 6-foot-5, 272-pound football giant recorded 37 tackles (10½ for a loss) and six sacks in 13 games, earning him Big Ten special teams player of the week honors, and Jason heaped praise for the linebacker’s past performance,
“He’s very open and he’s played multiple positions when he was in college, so he has a lot of good background with the things we’re asking him to do early on.”
The young star shed light on his incredible journey from three-star recruit to the first-round pick of the NFL Draft and marked himself as a blessed one for getting the chance to head to the big league.
“For me, I’m just blessed. This is an awesome opportunity for me to be here as you mentioned and every day I’m just coming in and putting my head down and trying to work,” said Lukas.
Who are the Packers linebackers?
Green Bay’s depth chart of linebackers includes De’Vondre Campbell, Quay Walker, Isaiah McDuffie, Eric Willson, Keshwan Banks, Brenton Cox Jr., Tariq Carpenter, and Jimmy Phillips.
Although there is confusion about whether Tariq will play as a linebacker or a safety, he was listed as a linebacker on his Relative Athletic Scorecard. Reportedly, Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst focused on physique to enroll new members in the roster and we can see the result while looking at this year’s draft pick.
Following turning 13 games in their favor throughout three back-to-back regular seasons, Green Bay finished 8-9, missing the playoffs in 2022 and the new post-Aaron era could be a challenging season for the team.
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