Jets second-year defensive end Will McDonald knows the task.
“Get more sacks,” McDonald said after the Jets beat the Commanders, 20-17, Saturday. “I’ve got to get some sacks. That’s the one thing that’s on my mind. Just being that baller and impacting the sport each time I’m on the market.”
Of the players who are usually not fighting for roster spots, there is probably not one other Jet who has more riding on this training camp and preseason than McDonald.
The Jets took him with the No. 15 overall pick in 2023, a pick that drew complaints from fans who wanted an offensive lineman or wide receiver on the spot.
McDonald played sparingly as a rookie but did show flashes of the flexibility that made him a first-round pick.
He finished the season with three sacks.
With Bryce Huff leaving for the Eagles in free agency and the Jets trading John Franklin-Myers to the Broncos, there’s a gap for an edge rusher that McDonald can fill.
The team traded for Haason Reddick to assist fill that opening too, but he’s holding out, creating much more opportunity for McDonald.
On Saturday, McDonald played 12 snaps. He didn’t have a sack, but he did drill Commanders quarterback Jeff Driskel on one play after using his signature spin move to beat tackle Mason Brooks.
McDonald ended up getting flagged on the play for roughing the passer, but it surely looked like a questionable call.
The official said McDonald landed on Driskel together with his full body weight.
Regardless that it ended up in a penalty, the play showed just how explosive McDonald will be off the sting. McDonald is an athletic freak with the flexibility to bend across the edge.
The Jets wish he would have added more weight to his frame this offseason, but McDonald says he has gotten stronger.
“I’m larger, stronger, faster,” McDonald said. “I’m higher at play recognition. Last 12 months, I used to be a rookie. I still was attempting to do what I needed to do, but this offseason, I made sure that I did what I want to.”
The query entering 12 months 2 for the Jets and McDonald is how much he’ll see the sphere. Jets coach Robert Saleh and defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich prefer to use a rotation on the defensive position.
Last season, the breakdown of snaps went like this: Jermaine Johnson 66 percent, Franklin-Myers 55 percent, Huff 42 percent, Micheal Clemons 33 percent and McDonald 16 percent.
Johnson and Reddick figure to be the highest two edge rushers this season, but can McDonald rise up to Huff’s level of playing time?
Many have talked about McDonald making a jump this season. He feels he just needs a likelihood.
“I don’t really think I want a leap; I just need some more opportunities,” McDonald said. “I’ve at all times been this sort of player. Last 12 months, we had numerous good guys within the room, I just wasn’t in a position to get as much opportunities, but now this 12 months, I’m hoping to get those opportunities more and just reap the benefits of those. People at all times say leap this and leap that, I don’t really think I needed to take a leap because for one, I wasn’t a foul player. I just needed more opportunities so I could reap the benefits of those.”
The Jets travel to Charlotte, N.C., this week for a joint practice Thursday with the Panthers before playing them in a preseason game on Saturday.
It’s going to be one other big week for McDonald.
The Jets posted video of his performance in a joint practice against the Commanders last week, highlighting how well he played.
McDonald now knows he needs to point out that in a game.
“It was cool, but that’s practice,” McDonald said. “On the subject of game time, that’s whenever you really need to go crazy. When the sport comes, that’s when you’ve to be a baller.”
Jets second-year defensive end Will McDonald knows the task.
“Get more sacks,” McDonald said after the Jets beat the Commanders, 20-17, Saturday. “I’ve got to get some sacks. That’s the one thing that’s on my mind. Just being that baller and impacting the sport each time I’m on the market.”
Of the players who are usually not fighting for roster spots, there is probably not one other Jet who has more riding on this training camp and preseason than McDonald.
The Jets took him with the No. 15 overall pick in 2023, a pick that drew complaints from fans who wanted an offensive lineman or wide receiver on the spot.
McDonald played sparingly as a rookie but did show flashes of the flexibility that made him a first-round pick.
He finished the season with three sacks.
With Bryce Huff leaving for the Eagles in free agency and the Jets trading John Franklin-Myers to the Broncos, there’s a gap for an edge rusher that McDonald can fill.
The team traded for Haason Reddick to assist fill that opening too, but he’s holding out, creating much more opportunity for McDonald.
On Saturday, McDonald played 12 snaps. He didn’t have a sack, but he did drill Commanders quarterback Jeff Driskel on one play after using his signature spin move to beat tackle Mason Brooks.
McDonald ended up getting flagged on the play for roughing the passer, but it surely looked like a questionable call.
The official said McDonald landed on Driskel together with his full body weight.
Regardless that it ended up in a penalty, the play showed just how explosive McDonald will be off the sting. McDonald is an athletic freak with the flexibility to bend across the edge.
The Jets wish he would have added more weight to his frame this offseason, but McDonald says he has gotten stronger.
“I’m larger, stronger, faster,” McDonald said. “I’m higher at play recognition. Last 12 months, I used to be a rookie. I still was attempting to do what I needed to do, but this offseason, I made sure that I did what I want to.”
The query entering 12 months 2 for the Jets and McDonald is how much he’ll see the sphere. Jets coach Robert Saleh and defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich prefer to use a rotation on the defensive position.
Last season, the breakdown of snaps went like this: Jermaine Johnson 66 percent, Franklin-Myers 55 percent, Huff 42 percent, Micheal Clemons 33 percent and McDonald 16 percent.
Johnson and Reddick figure to be the highest two edge rushers this season, but can McDonald rise up to Huff’s level of playing time?
Many have talked about McDonald making a jump this season. He feels he just needs a likelihood.
“I don’t really think I want a leap; I just need some more opportunities,” McDonald said. “I’ve at all times been this sort of player. Last 12 months, we had numerous good guys within the room, I just wasn’t in a position to get as much opportunities, but now this 12 months, I’m hoping to get those opportunities more and just reap the benefits of those. People at all times say leap this and leap that, I don’t really think I needed to take a leap because for one, I wasn’t a foul player. I just needed more opportunities so I could reap the benefits of those.”
The Jets travel to Charlotte, N.C., this week for a joint practice Thursday with the Panthers before playing them in a preseason game on Saturday.
It’s going to be one other big week for McDonald.
The Jets posted video of his performance in a joint practice against the Commanders last week, highlighting how well he played.
McDonald now knows he needs to point out that in a game.
“It was cool, but that’s practice,” McDonald said. “On the subject of game time, that’s whenever you really need to go crazy. When the sport comes, that’s when you’ve to be a baller.”
