The Green Bay Packers don’t have the luxury of pretending their pass rush is fine.
That’s the reality hanging over the start of the 2026 season, with Lukas Van Ness flashing signs of a breakout but still needing help around him. Micah Parsons is expected to be on the shelf for half the season, and that leaves new defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon looking for answers before the edge group is fully settled.
For now, Gannon is leaning into creativity.
The last week of camp has offered a glimpse of that approach. USA Today’s Ryan Wood reported that rookie Brandon Cisse would have had a sack if contact had been allowed, and that wasn’t the only time Green Bay brought pressure from the secondary. The idea is clear: if the front end isn’t yet a finished product, the Packers can still make quarterbacks uncomfortable by coming from unexpected places.
That doesn’t mean the problem is solved. Green Bay still has a real need to find a more consistent pass-rushing answer, and the team shouldn’t get comfortable just because the blitz package can cover some ground early. But using the defensive backs to help keep quarterbacks guessing is a workable bridge until Parsons returns, and it should also lighten the load on Van Ness.
There’s still a chance the Packers add more help. Speculation around Maxx Crosby and Josh Sweat continues, and that would naturally change the equation. Until then, Gannon appears intent on squeezing production out of the pieces already in place.
The current secondary gives him room to do that. All five expected starters can be used in blitz packages, and while that’s not the norm, the speed and coverage ability on the back end give Green Bay a chance to get creative early in the season. The goal is simple: force quarterbacks to guess where the pressure is coming from on key downs and create confusion before the pass rush fully comes together.
That kind of disguise is often what makes a secondary blitz so difficult to sort out. Gannon seems to understand that, and he’s not waiting around for the roster to magically fix itself. He’s searching for ways to attack the quarterback with what he has.
Fans should expect to see that approach early. The only thing that figures to change it is another edge threat emerging or the Packers deciding to add to the position.
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The Packers clearly saw enough to keep him around, extending his contract for one more year as they look to maintain stability in the kicking game and coverage units. If Niemann stays healthy, he should again be one of the teams most important special teams contributors in 2026, a role that may not grab attention on Sundays but can quietly swing field position and help shape games over the course of a season. [Read more 🡒]
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Packers Family Night Put New Pressure On Several Key Roster Battles
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The nights most memorable sequence came on a deep strike from Jordan Love to Matthew Golden, the kind of play that tends to linger when camp reports are otherwise packed with personnel notes and evaluation details. There were also a few defenders and linemen who kept adding to their cases, and with spots still very much up for grabs, the pressure now shifts to whether those practice performances keep carrying over once the competition tightens. [Read more 🡒]