GREEN BAY — If anyone could have been disappointed with the Green Bay Packers’ acquisition of Micah Parsons — as unfathomable as that may seem, given the impact Parsons had in his debut in Sunday’s 27-13 season-opening win over the Detroit Lions — Lukas Van Ness might’ve had a reason to feel slighted.

There’s no evidence to suggest the third-year defensive end actually was disappointed, of course, and after what Parsons did for him in the opener — on, and off the field — Van Ness might be among the players who benefit the most from the three-time All-Pro’s arrival.

Because Parsons appears dedicated to making the 24-year-old Van Ness his pet project.

“I’m telling you, I think Van Ness is going to have his best year yet this year,” Parsons said after playing 30 of the Packers’ 67 defensive snaps against the Lions — and pressuring quarterback Jared Goff on a play where Van Ness and Rashan Gary shared a sack. “I’m going to make sure of it.”

How? Why?

“That guy, he’s a very selfless player — like very selfless. He’s one of them guys that can go anywhere,” Parsons continued. “He plays the run, he does everything. He’s the high-quality player that you just want to be around.

“I’m going to make sure that guy gets as many plays as possible. I believe in him.”

Van Ness, the Packers’ 2023 first-round draft pick (No. 13 overall), came into this season having played in all 37 of the Packers’ games (including playoffs) but having managed eight sacks, 17 quarterback hits, 23 pressures, 74 total tackles and only one turnover play (a fumble recovery last season) across 912 total defensive snaps.

He played most of last season with a broken right thumb, which limited his versatility and forced him to rush almost exclusively from the right defensive end spot, meaning he matched up against left tackles virtually every snap.

But the Packers still believe in his potential, given his limited college experience (two seasons at Iowa, where he never started a game) and sky-high relative athletic score (9.35 out of 10).

He seemed miscast as a 3-4 outside linebacker in previous defensive coordinator Joe Barry’s system before transitioning to defensive end in Jeff Hafley’s 4-3 scheme. Then last year, he struggled with his perfectionist personality and found himself thinking too much instead of just playing.

“I think Lukas always wants to be perfect, and this is an imperfect game,” Packers head coach Matt LaFleur said midway through training camp when asked about the mixed results the team has gotten from Van Ness’ first two seasons.

“Sometimes, you’ve just got to go. I think he’s starting to learn that. Obviously, he was a young player when we drafted him and he’s getting more reps. He’s another guy that just looking forward to see how he progresses as the season goes along.”

While the addition of Parsons figures to cut into his defensive end snaps, the inclusion of defensive tackle Kenny Clark in the Packers’ trade with the Dallas Cowboys for Parsons left an opening in the Packers’ third-down pass-rushing package inside. And that’s where Van Ness saw extensive action Sunday.

Van Ness played 36 of the Packers’ 67 snaps (54%) against the Lions, finishing with four tackles and getting his half-sack on a third-and-7 on the Lions’ opening offensive series.

“I had a lot of fun,” Van Ness said after the game. “As I continued to preach throughout training camp and preseason and now into the season, [it’s about] staying consistent and not listening to the outside noise and just being me. I know what I’m capable of and I think I showed a little bit of that today. And it’s only up from here.”

On the shared sack, Van Ness lined up inside with defensive tackle Karl Books with Gary and Parsons as the defensive ends. When Parsons bull-rushed All-Pro right tackle Penei Sewell into Goff, Van Ness was there to make the play.

“Lukas Van Ness is still Lukas Van Ness. He’s going to help us win football games this year,” new defensive line coach DeMarcus Covington said. “Just because I have a candle and it’s lit, and I light your candle, my candle doesn’t go out. So we’re lighting each other’s candles. [Then] we can shine all together.”

Asked how lining up inside changes his game, Van Ness replied, “I think it creates a lot of one-on-one opportunities and creates some confusion across the offensive line. Ultimately, we’re just trying to get matchups and one-on-ones, and especially since we added Micah to the room, I think it’s if you get that one-on-one, you better win.”

According to Next Gen Stats, the Packers pressured Goff on 14 of his 43 drop-backs on Sunday, and they did it without sending extra rushers. Of those 14 pressures, only two came when Hafley sent a blitz, meaning Goff faced a four-man rush most of the time — the kind of pass rush the Packers would like to run this season.

And at least one person — Parsons — believes Van Ness will be critical to that.

“I told him, ‘I think you can be like a Cameron Wake, you could be like a Julius Peppers. You’re a 4.5 guy, and it’s time for you to show it,’” Parsons said, knowing what high praise his comps to Wake (100.5 sacks in 11 NFL seasons) and Peppers (159.5 career sacks in 17 seasons, including 25 in three seasons with the Packers) were. “And we’re going to put it together.

“We’re going to keep working out together, keep lab-ing, and I’m excited to see how that turns out for him.”

​COPYRIGHT 2025 BY CHANNEL 3000. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.