The Green Bay Packers know they’ve got something special in Jordan Love and the young team surrounding him. Green Bay has made the playoffs in Love’s first two seasons under center, something that is impressive all by itself.
However, Green Bay hasn’t just made the playoffs. They were within three points of reaching the NFC Championship game last season and they’re on the brink of winning 12 games this season.
However, it would seem one un-drafted free agent is making waves on the roster.
Packers: 1st Round Draft Pick Passed Up On Depth Chart By UDFA (Report)
There has been more right than wrong in the Packers’ NFL draft in recent years. One costly mistake, however, has been especially hard for them to overcome, as was evident in their 27-25 loss to the Vikings:
The Packers need pass-rushing help. They thought they were getting it when they used the No. 13 pick in the 2023 draft on edge rusher Lukas Van Ness, but through two seasons, Van Ness has yet to show he belongs as an NFL starter. Per Pro Football Focus, Van Ness has earned a grade of just 52.8 this year, which ranks 107th out of 119 qualified pass rushers in the league.
As Brandon Carwile of Packers Wire pointed out, Van Ness actually fell behind undrafted free agent Brenton Cox Jr., who played eight more snaps than Van Ness in the game.
Carwile wrote: “In last week’s win over the New Orleans Saints, Brenton Cox Jr. played eight more snaps on defense than Lukas Van Ness. In Sunday’s loss to the Minnesota Vikings, Cox played 29 snaps on defense compared to 25 for Van Ness.
“Why is this alarming? Cox was signed as an undrafted free agent following the 2023 NFL Draft, while Van Ness was the 13th overall pick.”
Despite playing only 160 snaps, Cox has earned a PFF grade of 72.2, making him the second best performing edge rusher on the team (Rashan Gary).
Here is a look at his stats this season:
| Def Interceptions | Fumbles | Tackles | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Team | Opp | Result | Int | Yds | IntTD | Lng | PD | FF | Fmb | FR | Yds | FRTD | Sk | Comb | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits | Sfty | |
| 2024-12-29 | GNB | @ | MIN | L 25-27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 2024-12-23 | GNB | NOR | W 34-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 2024-12-15 | GNB | @ | SEA | W 30-13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 2024-12-05 | GNB | @ | DET | L 31-34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2024-11-28 | GNB | MIA | W 30-17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 2024-11-24 | GNB | SFO | W 38-10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2024-11-17 | GNB | @ | CHI | W 20-19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | |
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