Former first-round pick named X-Factor for Packers heading into 2026 NFL season

After finishing second in the NFC North last season, the Green Bay Packers will be looking to climb back to the top of the division in 2026. 

In order for that to happen, they’ll likely need a big season from one particular player. 

Lukas Van Ness named X-Factor for Packers ahead of 2026 NFL season

ESPN’s Ben Solak recently named the biggest X-Factor for every team in the league heading into the ’26 season, and linebacker Lukas Van Ness was the pick for the Packers.

Green Bay selected Van Ness in the first round (13th overall) of the 2023 NFL Draft, but he started in just two games for the team over his first five seasons in the league. Moving forward into the '26 season, Green Bay will be banking on him to take a step forward as they'll need someone else to serve as a backfield disruptor alongside Micah Parsons. 

"Van Ness must give Green Bay a three-down presence as a penetrator who creates negative plays. ... He has all the physical tools of a highly disruptive player -- strong, quick and long with inside/out versatility -- but the pieces have yet to come together," Solak wrote. 

". . . No matter how the secondary plays or what the scheme is, opposing offenses will throw chips and double-teams at Parsons until someone else on Green Bay's front punishes them for it. Van Ness is not just the first candidate to do that -- he might be the only realistic one."

This story will be updated. 

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