The Packers pass rush came to play, and more lessons from Family Night 2025
The Green Bay offensive line couldn't block Lukas Van Ness and that's not just a problem for the Packers line; it's a problem for future opponents.
Good morning!
The Green Bay Packers had a practice on Saturday Night, and 60,000 people showed up! Family Night brought families out, and with it, hints at some answers to questions we’ve been wondering about the 2025 team.
In today’s newsletter, we look at the trenches with offensive and defensive line standouts, plus shout out some fringe roster players who took advantage of their opportunities in front of a partisan crowd.
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How encouraged should Packers fans be with the pass rush performance on Family Night?
Peter Bukowski: In a word: very. Jordan Love rarely had a clean pocket in the matchup of starters vs. starters, and Lukas Van Ness in particular looked like a wrecking ball. Brenton Cox got in the mix as well with a nice run stop, and the pair of Georgia rookies Warren Brinson and Nazir Stackhouse built on a strong week of practice with some impact plays.
Remember, Family Night is just one practice of three weeks’ worth of practices. Just because this one was on TV doesn’t mean it matters more. For Van Ness in particular, though, this is a continuation of a stellar start to his camp. Jason wrote about that progress last week.
We saw it first hand when LVN dog-walked Jordan Morgan into Jordan Love’s lap, the kind of dominating rep that leaves no doubt as to whether it was a pressure or a sack. That play was dead, and Van Ness killed it.
This dovetails with our next point, but Van Ness wasn’t the only rusher making an impact. The aforementioned Cox strung together some nice rushes while Barryn Sorrell beat fellow rookie Anthony Belton for a pressure (maybe a sack) in work against the No. 2 offense.
If anything, the lack of clean pockets stands out as a worry for the offense, while the boon goes to the defense for winning their matchups up front.
How much longer will the Jordan Morgan at tackle plan be strung out?
PB: Objection! Leading the witness. Remember that GIF from above? Yeah, that’s about as damning as evidence gets. Morgan came to the NFL as a consensus guard conversion, and though trusting the wisdom of draft crowds on this one can have its downfalls, the consensus appears to be right.
I made the case that the Packers are letting Morgan prove he can’t play tackle before moving him to guard full-time, and he’s doing exactly that. He struggled with power from both LVN and Kingsley Enagbare on Saturday night, and that’s supposed to be one of the places he’s best equipped to succeed in the NFL.
His lateral quickness was my biggest question watching him, and the players who beat him in pass rush situations were the players who could counter back inside. He didn’t have the agility to get back to those blocks. That’s why moving him inside to guard where those spaces condense makes so much sense.
A rookie Anthony Belton looked more comfortable at left tackle than Morgan, and played better as well, even though Sorrell got him on a pass-rush rep against Malik Willis and the 2s. If anyone is going to compete with Rasheed Walker for the starting left tackle job, it ought to be Belton. Enough funny business with Morgan at tackle. Get him repping with Sean Rhyan and give him every chance to win that job.
The tackle case is open and shut.
Do any of the ancillary performers from Family Night impact the outlook for the 53-man roster?
PB: The short answer is “no,” but the longer answer is “maybe.”
The biggest unsung winner of Saturday Night was Omar Brown, a safety with a 40s number and odds probably in that range (40:1) to make the roster when Green Bay brought him in. Three interceptions later, and some strong play of late in camp may change that trajectory.
Outside of Xavier McKinney, Evan Williams, and Javon Bullard, the Packers have more questions than answers at safety. Kitan Oladapo has never shown anything that suggests he’s a passable rotation player, though that doesn’t mean he’s not; he just hasn’t shown it. Brown came to Green Bay by way of Nebraska via Northern Iowa. Oh, and he’s from Minnesota. This is a kid born to play in the NFC North.
Bo Melton’s rep on Matthew Golden got the attention of rival fans, but Brian Gutekunst mentioned last week, the Packers considered moving Melton to cornerback when they first got him, pointing out that his draft profile looks more like a cornerback than receiver, at least by their traditional standards.
Melton’s technique has a long way to go, but he’s already a core special teams player, and if he can offer some value as a backup corner, then that’s gravy for Green Bay.
One last shoutout goes to Travis Hunter’s teammate at Colorado, Will Sheppard. He made a slew of nice plays as a receiver and a returner. He looked like the intriguing UDFA prospect Sam Brown Jr. was billed to be. Sheppard remains a longshot to make the roster, but 31 other teams are watching.