The Packers are still living with the fallout from the 2023 NFL Draft, and Lukas Van Ness keeps getting pulled back into the conversation.
Green Bay took Van Ness with the No. 13 overall pick after getting that rare early selection in the Aaron Rodgers trade package. At the time, plenty of Packers fans wanted the team to go a different direction - either wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba or cornerback Christian Gonzalez.
That frustration hasn’t aged out. If anything, it’s gotten louder.
Smith-Njigba has already turned into a star in Seattle, earning first-team All-Pro honors and playing a major role in the Seahawks’ Super Bowl triumph last season. Gonzalez has been just as damaging to the Packers’ draft regret, and now he’s on the verge of a massive payday that only sharpens the sting.
Patriots owner Robert Kraft said the team plans to make Gonzalez the highest-paid player ever at his position.
"We love Christian Gonzalez. We love him as a player, as a person, and that's why we've made an offer to him to make him the highest-paid player to ever play that position in the NFL," Kraft said, via Mike Reiss of ESPN."
And coincidentally, it is the highest contract in Patriots franchise history. So we're glad we drafted him, he's developed here, and we hope he'll be with us for a long time."
That offer makes sense given what Gonzalez has become. He’s coming off a Pro Bowl season and was a second-team All-Pro before that. After a torn labrum limited him to four games as a rookie in 2023, he has bounced back in a big way, appearing in 30 of a possible 34 games since then.
The numbers back up the rise. Over the last two seasons, Gonzalez has broken up 21 passes and picked off two. Pro Football Reference says quarterbacks have completed only 54.7 percent of their throws against him for 1,038 yards, four touchdowns, two interceptions, and a 75.7 passer rating.
At 24, he’s still climbing.
For Green Bay, the timing only makes the miss look worse. Cornerback remains unsettled, even after the Packers added Benjamin St-Juste in free agency and drafted Brandon Cisse in the second round and Domani Jackson in the sixth. St-Juste and Cisse are in the mix with Carrington Valentine for the starting job opposite Keisean Nixon.
That group should be better than the nightmare Green Bay dealt with last season, but there are still real questions. Can Nixon hold up as a full-time starter?
Is St-Juste ready to play every week after impressing in a backup role with the Chargers last season? Can Cisse contribute right away?
Gonzalez would have answered all of that with one swing.
Instead, the Packers are left watching him move toward a record-setting extension while their own first-round pick continues trying to justify the choice. Van Ness has shown encouraging signs heading into training camp, and he can still put together a breakout season. Green Bay needs that, especially while Parsons is out.
In Other News...
Wisconsin Just Lost A Defensive Lineman Right Before Fall Camp
Wisconsins defensive line took a small hit ahead of fall camp when Torin Pettaway decided to leave the program, trimming a room that was already being watched closely for depth. Pettaway had been a developmental piece who had yet to see game action, so this is not the sort of departure that changes the top of the rotation, but it does chip away at the numbers as the Badgers start sorting out their front for the coming season.
The bigger takeaway is the roster math. Wisconsin now has nine scholarship defensive linemen heading toward the 2026 campaign, which leaves the staff with a little less margin than it had before camp opened. Pettaway was not expected to factor into the immediate mix, but his exit still matters in a position group where every body counts and attrition can add up quickly. [Read more 🡒]
Wisconsin Still Has One Roster Decision That Could Change Everything
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That search has Wisconsin looking in a few directions, including the international market, though the staff is being careful because of NCAA eligibility rules. The Badgers are not rushing the decision, which makes sense with one scholarship still available and a chance to shape the roster around a specific need rather than simply taking the first player who comes along. [Read more 🡒]
Wisconsin Fall Camp Could Upend More Than One Key Battle
Fall camp is setting up to be more than a routine August checkpoint for Wisconsin, because a few of the most important jobs on the roster are still very much in play. The quarterback room has Colton Joseph at the front, but the backup discussion has become a real competition, with Deuce Adams trying to hold off freshman Hopkins after an offseason in which the young passer made a strong impression. Coaches also have to sort out the tackle picture, where Ole Miss transfer PJ Wilkins and Florida State transfer Lucas Simmons-Johansson spent the spring jockeying for position.
The ripple effects could reach beyond those two spots, too. Outside linebacker Nick Clayton is another name drawing attention after an offseason of praise, and his development could matter as Wisconsin looks for more edge pressure. For a team trying to leave camp with clearer answers than it brought in, the next few weeks may determine not just who starts, but how quickly the Badgers can settle the depth chart behind the obvious headline roles. [Read more 🡒]