Robert Saleh may have clarified how the New York Jets are using Will McDonald
For all those hysterical about the New York Jets’ usage of Will McDonald in training camp, Robert Saleh may have just provided an answer.
With Haason Reddick holding out, many expected McDonald to bump up to first-team reps. Instead, Micheal Clemons has taken them. The easiest explanation was that Clemons could hold his own against the run while McDonald could not.
Saleh seemed to contradict that narrative in a press conference. The first question he fielded about McDonald referred to expectations for him. Specifically, Saleh was asked if McDonald would slide into Bryce Huff’s specialist role. “I don’t want to cap it,” Saleh responded. “Will McDonald is a special athlete. It’s a boring answer. … If he comes and works to be his best every day, he’ll be fine. He’s a freakish athlete, he’s got freakish ability, and as long as he keeps his head down and keeps on working, he’ll be fine.”
But at the end of the presser, a more specific question about McDonald elicited a slightly different response. A reporter asked if the key is becoming a three-down player, adding more weight and strength, or something else.
“I think he’d be fine in the run game. It’s not necessarily about being a three-down player, it’s about proving to yourself and to the men in front of you, the tackle, that you can run through his face on a pass play,” Saleh replied. “When he can establish the fact that he can win with power, it’s going to open up all his speed, all his athleticism, and all his quickness.”
Saleh reiterated, “From a run game standpoint, he plays with great leverage, he plays with great hands, he’s plenty good enough to play the run in our system. So it’s more proving to himself and to the people in front of them that he can run through them.”
This is perhaps a slightly different perspective on McDonald. What Saleh said is very different from what the Jets indicated about Bryce Huff (which is showing up in Philadelphia, as well) when they used him as little as possible on run downs. It doesn’t seem like the Jets are as worried about McDonald’s run defense. That showed when he played 44.8% of his snaps against the run in 2023 compared to Huff’s 27.9%.
However, what Saleh did say fits with McDonald’s primary weakness coming out of college. He lacks any sort of bull rush or power moves. His speed rush, spin move, rips, and the stem of his rush are all good. Without the threat of power, though, blockers can sit on those moves. Saleh didn’t even say that it’s about gaining strength, but it’s about utilizing his strength, meaning he needs to learn good leverage and hand usage on a bull rush.
Perhaps it’s somewhat discouraging that McDonald hasn’t yet added this skill from Year 1 to Year 2. Still, considering that he got a late start playing football relative to his peers, it makes sense that he needs technique refinement.
If the Jets aren’t as worried about McDonald against the run, his usage might not be the same as Huff’s. We could see Jermaine Johnson and Haason Reddick on third down with McDonald taking more of the early down snaps.
Overall, the Jets’ defensive line rotation could evolve in unexpected ways throughout training camp and into the regular season.
