Will McDonald IV: The Irony of the Jets Drafting Him

Yes, I know, the NFL draft was in April, but something came to mind when thinking back on the Jets taking Will McDonald IV in the first round.

I had reservations about the pick, not from a talent standpoint–he reminds me of Robert Mathis, with Dwight Freeney’s spin move–but from a standpoint of he wasn’t what the team needed. They have a plethora of pass rushers.

While I think you can never have enough pass rushers, however, they had needs in other areas such as offensive lineman, defensive tackle–they were thin in that area after losing Sheldon Rankins and Nathan Shepherd–and linebacker that needed to be addressed.

Speaking of having a plethora of pass rushers, this brings me to the irony that came to mind recently. I remember during the Rex Ryan era, when they lacked pass rushers. I thought was Shaun Ellis was underrated, and Calvin Pace was more of a complementary pass rusher, for the most part, they were the main guys getting after the quarterback.

Almost every draft I was hoping they would draft an edge rusher, but they usually went elsewhere with the pick.

Now, they’re loaded with pass rushers, and they’ve added another one in Will McDonald. The good thing is, he has been turning heads in camp, and he has had a pretty good preseason.

I don’t see him starting right off the bat, but with his speed and skill set, which fits perfectly in the Wide-Nine alignment that the Jets like to use, plus the fact that Robert Saleh likes to rotate his defensive lineman, he will get snaps, and I think he will be an eventual starter.