Packers Can't Assume Their Pass Rushers Will Improve

The Green Bay Packers’ pass rush never quite fired on all cylinders in 2024. There were moments of brilliance, like the eight-sack outing in Tennessee and the seven sacks against the Seattle Seahawks.

Overall, though, the group underwhelmed. While many of the same faces will be back in 2025, the Packers can't simply assume there will be improvement from the current group.

Everyone waited patiently for Rashan Gary to show he could be an elite pass rusher in 2024. There have been glimpses in the past, but nothing ever sustained throughout a full season. Gary had only two sacks in the first eight weeks this season and went through a stretch where he had zero quarterback pressures in three of four contests. The former Michigan Wolverine turned it on late, racking up 5.5 sacks in the final nine weeks and registering multiple quarterback pressures in nearly every game.

The issue is that after six seasons in the league and entering his age-28 campaign, it's safe to assume that Gary is who he is at this point. He isn't a Myles Garrett type, nor a Maxx Crosby type. Gary will string together multiple games that open everyone's eyes and then have extended stretches where you don't even notice he's on the field.

He's an incredible leader for the locker room and wears his emotions on his sleeve, but he falls into the "good, not elite" category on a defense that needs an elite playmaker on the edge.

Lukas Van Ness has been invisible for two seasons after being Green Bay's first-round pick in 2023. Van Ness has seven combined sacks in two seasons and 22 quarterback pressures despite not missing much time. An asterisk needs to be placed on his rookie season because the snaps were hard to come by in what appeared to be a crowded defensive edge room.

The alarming part of Van Ness's lack of production comes from this year, specifically after the Packers traded Preston Smith to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Smith trade opened up more opportunities for Van Ness and Brenton Cox Jr., yet Van Ness didn't turn it into anything close to stellar.

In the last four games of the season, including the playoff loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, Van Ness saw his snap count total go from 32% to 35% to 44% and finally 52%. In the two weeks before playing 32% of the snaps against the New Orleans Saints, Van Ness had outings where he saw the field for 42% and 44% of the defensive snaps. Those also came after the Packers traded Smith.

Despite an increased workload, Van Ness registered a grand total of one sack following the Week 10 bye.

To give up on Van Ness after two years would be foolish. It'd be equally naive to expect some massive Year 3 leap where he delivers on the hype of being a first-round selection and carries a pass-rushing group starving for consistency. The front office can't bank on a big jump from this group.

Cox may be the exception to the rule. A healthy scratch until the Smith trade in early November, Cox also benefitted from an increased role following the move.

The big difference? Cox took the opportunity and ran with it.

In just seven games played, all coming in Week 11 and after, Cox had more sacks than Van Ness (four) and more quarterback hits (seven). The difference is that Van Ness played in most of the games before Week 11.

Cox's production was also spread out. His four sacks came in four games, and he registered at least one quarterback hit in five. Cox has sky-high potential. Still, crossing your fingers that he'll be a savior for the group would be an incredible risk.

For what it's worth, general manager Brian Gutekunst gave a show of support when a reporter asked about the group

Gutekunst echoing that the group didn't grow into a consistent front is exactly why the Packers need to be proactive in finding a solution. A solution doesn't mean throwing the current group aside. Instead, it's about finding an option or multiple options that boost the group.

Gary's name recognition and Cox's promise aren't enough to run it back in 2025 at the defensive edge. Van Ness's athleticism and Kingsley Enagbare's reliability also don't push things over the top. The Packers need to address the issue at hand. Doing so correctly could take a solid defense to another level.