Sep 9, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; New York Jets defensive end Will McDonald IV (99) before the game against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
The New York Jets picked up Will McDonald in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft. At 15th overall, many fans quickly doubted this move and called for Douglas’s head. With Bryce Huff and Jermaine Johnson, where was the need for someone like Will McDonald on the team? This was a valid question for Jets fans at the time. However, to say those fans were wrong about McDonald would be a massive understatement.
In his rookie season, McDonald played 15 games. He picked up just 14 total tackles off of nine solos and five assists. He also picked up three sacks and forced one fumble. These are all respectable stats for someone who was in his first year. However, with Bryce Huff running things on the defensive line, there were still questions about McDonald, and those questions still led to doubts by man. So far in the beginning of the new campaign, McDonald continued to prove doubters wrong in a massive way.
To say Will McDonald has been proving naysayers wrong so far would be an understatement. Even though McDonald was still met with criticism before this year, fans knew he would have to come up big with Bryce Huff now moving on to Philadelphia. McDonald so far on the season has picked up 12 total tackles from nine solos and three assists. McDonald also has seven total sacks through only five weeks. This is double his number of sacks for the entire season last year. On top of that, he has one forced fumble.
McDonald’s best game so far came back in Week 2 against the Tennessee Titans. He picked up four total tackles, forced one fumble, and got to the quarterback three times. He also became the first Jet since Jamal Adams in 2019 to pick up three sacks in a single game. With his seven total sacks, McDonald sits tied for second with Dexter Lawrence, behind only Detroit Lions elite edge rusher Aiden Hutchinson. For a second-year player, this is some elite company to be in, and McDonald has been holding his own against some of the NFL’s best.
McDonald’s on-field play has been holding down the fort while Haason Reddick continues his holdout. Hopefully, Reddick will be back sooner than later and add even more depth to what could be one of the NFL’s best defensive fronts. Unfortunately, losing Jermaine Johnson didn’t help this matter. Quinnen Williams and Quincy Williams have each been playing well, and Jamien Sherwood has been helping the defense shine, but McDonald really is the most important player out there.
Things are really beginning to click for the pass defense, and McDonald is a big player in why that is. His ability to get to the quarterback is a game changing ability for any team, and thankfully McDonald is picking up where Huff left off. Whether you like the draft pick of McDonald or not, his current level of play is more than worth the number the Jets picked him at. McDonald isn’t only playing solid, he’s playing like a top-five player at his position in the entire NFL.
With Reddick continuing his holdout, and Johnson injured, McDonald has quickly become one of the Jets most important player on the defensive side of the ball. The entire defense will need McDonald to continue to live up to the hype and be the Jets best pass rusher, and so far it’s looking like he’s going to step into that role. Will McDonald is here to stay, and if the past five weeks are any indication, McDonald could be one of the most pivotal pieces of the Jets defense.