Packers Minicamp Recap: Lukas Van Ness Has A Day

The Green Bay Packers kicked off their mandatory minicamp without a lot of drama this year. So far, everyone has reported to voluntary offseason workouts, so there was no threat of a player missing mandatory work (and the fines that come with it).

The Packers’ minicamp will last three days, beginning with today’s action. The star of the show on Tuesday was pass-rusher Lukas Van Ness, who will need to step up in a big way for however long Micah Parsons is going to be out of the lineup.

Participation

Overall, the Packers added offensive lineman Donovan Jennings and defensive lineman Jonathan Ford back to practice since the last time we saw them at OTAs, but they’ve now lost tight end Luke Musgrave, left guard Aaron Banks, defensive lineman Javon Hargrave and defensive lineman Warren Brinson due to injury, too. In total, 17 players are dealing with an injury that either kept them out of practice or dropped them out of practice.

Offense

Due to the injuries to Zach Tom, Aaron Banks and Jacob Monk, Jager Burton continues to get looks with the first-team offense. I can’t remember a time when a fifth-round rookie was thrown into the fire so early in Green Bay, but the circumstances on the offensive line have lined up to where Burton is getting a bunch of reps early on. Hopefully, he takes advantage of his situation.

With Tucker Kraft out and Luke Musgrave dropping out of practice, Messiah Swinson appeared to be the next man up, along with Josh Whyle — who is more of a move tight end and pass-catcher. Swinson is on his third stint with the Packers and has done a good job of performing as a blocker and special teams player in preseasons, but he has yet to get into regular-season action. By the end of practice, the team’s only participating tight ends were Whyle, Swinson and undrafted rookie R.J. Maryland.

2025 seventh-round pick John Williams, who missed his entire rookie year with a back injury, is getting reps at center in camp. It’ll be interesting to see how many center-capable linemen the Packers end up keeping on the 53-man roster this year, as Williams, Jacob Monk and Jager Burton all have experience at the position behind Sean Rhyan. Undrafted rookie offensive lineman Dillon Wade got a crack with the second-team ahead of fellow UDFAs Josh Gesky and Dylan Barrett, who also play the guard position.

Defense

Nothing too surprising about the starting lineup here. The defensive line is banged up, so it’s not really worth paying attention to the Packers’ preferred rotation today. The other open job is cornerback opposite of Keisean Nixon, where Carrington Valentine, Benjamin St-Juste (injured) and second-round rookie Brandon Cisse are competing for playing time.

It’s safe to say that Lukas Van Ness stole the show today. This is your reminder that these practices aren’t padded, which puts offensive linemen at a bit of a disadvantage. Still, it’s nice to see that LVN is performing well, considering the Packers just picked up his $13.8 million fifth-year option for 2027.

Special Teams

I would guess that the Packers’ preferred gunners and jammers going into 2026 will be Bo Melton and Benjamin St-Juste, but with St-Juste out, rookie second-rounder Brandon Cisse got an opportunity with the first unit. If Cisse can’t win the cornerback job outright, maybe he can still contribute on special teams this year.

Rookie kicker Trey Smack had a rough go of it last week, going just 5 of 9. Today, he bounced back by hitting 7 of 8. Ultimately, all that matters is what his performance is going to look like in games this year, but I’m sure anxious Packers fans will be keeping track of Smack’s day-to-day performances throughout the summer.