Despite questions about his size, strength, and run defense, the New York Jets used a top-15 pick on Will McDonald because of his pass-rush ceiling. And in his second NFL season, McDonald took a massive leap toward reaching that ceiling.
McDonald finished 2024 tied for 11th among edge rushers in sacks (10.5) and 13th in total pressures (64), per Pro Football Focus. After posting 3.0 sacks and 12 total pressures on a minimal snap count (99 pass-rush snaps) in his rookie year, this was the type of leap New York hoped to see from McDonald in an expanded role.
However, being a starting edge rusher in the NFL entails more than just getting after the quarterback. Stopping the run is also critical, and in that department, McDonald remains a work in progress… if we’re putting it nicely.
Unlike in his rookie year, the Jets could not hide McDonald’s run defense in 2024, as he was being relied upon as an every-down starter. After playing just 84 run defense snaps as a rookie, McDonald finished 20th at his position with 276 run defense snaps. His issues in this phase were put on full display each week.
McDonald was arguably the NFL’s worst edge rusher against the run. He earned a putrid 39.5 run defense grade at Pro Football Focus, the worst in the NFL among the 105 edge rushers to play at least 300 defensive snaps.
This terrible grade stemmed from McDonald’s combination of too many mistakes and too few positive plays. He wasn’t “boom-or-bust,” as players of his mold often are—it was essentially all bust.
Despite ranking top-20 at the position in snaps against the run, McDonald placed 84th with a measly eight run stops; his 3.0% run-stop rate was second-worst among edge rushers with 200+ run defense snaps. McDonald also missed six tackles against the run; his 23.1% missed tackle rate in the run game was third-worst. His 1.3-to-1 ratio of run stops-to-missed tackles was not only the worst, but it was precisely one-third of the positional average among qualifiers (3.9-to-1).
Statistically speaking, it is difficult to argue McDonald was not the costliest run defender in the NFL among edge rushers in 2024. But are the stats exaggerating his woes in this phase?
A review of McDonald’s film reveals the answer.
Unfortunately for Jets fans, the numbers seem legitimate. As I combed through McDonald’s reps against the run, he frequently stood out as a liability.
Let’s examine some of McDonald’s follies in the run game to understand how (and if) he can improve in 2025.
Will McDonald’s run defense film
The 49ers leave McDonald unblocked on the back side; the left guard pulls to pick him up. McDonald appears completely unaware of the incoming puller and gets crushed by the block.
McDonald tries to cross the tight end’s face and win outside. In the midst of McDonald attempting a rip move, the tight end gets his hands in McDonald’s chest and creates tremendous lateral movement, helping to open a large running lane.
McDonald tried to do too much here. All he needed to do was get outside and hold his ground to set a firm edge. From there, the running back would be forced back inside toward the help; Quincy Williams was waiting in the next gap. Instead, McDonald got greedy, trying to get past the blocker and make a play. In doing so, he compromised his gap and allowed a huge hole to open.
Sometimes, McDonald just needs to do his job. That will be a theme throughout this film review.
McDonald gets cracked by the wide receiver, allowing the run to get outside. He gets through with a rip move and is able to make a late diving tackle attempt, but misses.
Similar to the previous clip, McDonald gets greedy by trying to beat the blocker and pursue the ball carrier instead of just creating congestion. Sitting in a wide alignment with two wide receivers over him, you would like to see McDonald have some awareness of a potential crack block and respond by pushing the receiver toward the sideline, forcing the runner to string the run out horizontally. Instead, McDonald goes downhill, playing right into the blocking scheme’s hands and yielding an outside lane.
McDonald and Michael Carter II run a gap exchange; McDonald slices inside to the B gap while Carter II loops behind him and takes the edge. McDonald does a brutal job, allowing the left guard to steamroll him and create a large running lane.
McDonald looks shy to take on the contact here. Watch him as he engages. He seems to duck his head away as the guard closes in, and his hands are anything but violent. This is, quite simply, soft.
Another issue on this play (a consistent one that you will see in many of these clips) is McDonald’s snap timing. Look how late he is to react to the snap. He is the last Jets defensive lineman to move. The ball is almost in Bo Nix’s hands before McDonald moves a muscle. McDonald’s late get-off gives the guard a head start on building momentum into the block, ultimately helping him win the rep.
McDonald initially does the right thing here, extending his arms and attempting to maintain outside leverage. However, the right tackle is able to wrench McDonald inside, opening up the edge.
You also don’t love to see the somewhat lackadaisical effort to get back into the play. Say what you want about Micheal Clemons, but compare his hustle on this rep to McDonald’s.
Here’s a rare positive play from McDonald, although it isn’t anything special. Left unblocked, he patiently reads the play. McDonald shuffles inside and sifts over top of the traffic to stay clean. He makes a clean tackle to stop a positive run play from getting any worse.
McDonald is initially left unblocked, and the 49ers block him with a tight end motioning pre-snap from the opposite side. McDonald initially has the right idea; he dips his shoulder and takes on the block. However, he then tries to get around the block and pursue the ball. McDonald gets behind the runner and lets him dart straight past him.
If McDonald simply pushed the tight end toward the inside, he may have impeded the runner’s path, forcing a jump-cut toward another potential tackler. By trying to go upfield, McDonald completely removed himself from the play.
McDonald is a tad late off the ball, and it is a bad time for such a mistake, as the 49ers are running a jet sweep behind wide-zone blocking. The goal of each blocker is to beat his defender to the sideline, which makes every split-second precious.
McDonald’s hesitation buys time for the right tackle to explode off the line and get across McDonald’s face, placing himself between McDonald and the ball carrier. McDonald does nothing to impede the run, and a touchdown is scored through his gap.
Garett Bolles completely manhandles McDonald on this one.
This is one of those plays where McDonald looks every bit of his 236-pound frame. He was the third-lightest defensive lineman to play a game in the 2024 season, beating only Jamin Davis (234) and Isaiah Land (226), who each played fewer than 150 defensive snaps. Among starters, McDonald was the smallest player at his position, and he often looked it when trying to take on physical linemen like Bolles.
McDonald does a nice job of staying afoot through the traffic and pursuing this run to the outside. However, he whiffs on the tackle attempt. McDonald is fortunate that C.J. Mosley is there to clean up his mess.
In terms of how he takes on the block, this is the best rep we have seen from McDonald so far. On the back side of this zone concept, McDonald creates plenty of lateral movement on Kyle Juszczyk.
However, McDonald shows a complete lack of awareness. The ball carrier cuts back and is able to run straight behind McDonald without him noticing. Luckily, Solomon Thomas makes a great play, but McDonald had little idea where the ball was despite his good effort taking on the block. He could have allowed a big play to go straight behind his back if Thomas had not bailed him out.
Poor edge-setting from McDonald. He lets the TE torque him inside and is unable to shed the block after multiple seconds, leaving the edge vacated for a big play.
Unlike some of the other reps we have watched, McDonald’s decision to aggressively shoot the gap on this play is not a bad one. That is his gap assignment.
The problem is that McDonald turns his back to the play and eliminates himself as a potential tackler. McDonald actually gets excellent penetration and is right there to impede the running lane, but he tries throwing a spin move, which allows the ball carrier to dart straight past him while his back is to the play. If McDonald had just played this straight-up, he’d have been able to shed the block and at least slow the runner down, if not make the tackle.
Once again, McDonald got too cute and treated run defense like pass rushing. He must learn to just do his job and stop trying to beat every block.
McDonald exacerbates his lack of size by playing with a small mentality. As he attempts to squeeze the puller, look how shy he is. McDonald is clearly moving his body away from the puller. Against NFL competition, that is basically giving up.
The left tackle erases McDonald on the pull, and the ball carrier runs straight through the block for a positive play.
Trent Williams takes McDonald for a ride, and the ball carrier runs behind him for a nice chunk.
Nowhere to go but up
Will McDonald’s run defense is every bit as poor as his stats suggest.
McDonald is undersized at 236 pounds and plays even smaller than that due to his tendency to avoid contact. Additionally, he lacks awareness, struggles to shed blocks, has poor gap discipline, and is wildly overaggressive.
For McDonald to improve his run defense, the first step is to bulk up. He needs a few more pounds on his frame to have any hope of being a competent run defender, or teams will continue to reap the benefits of running toward him. Even tight ends can move him wherever they want to. At times, it feels like the Jets would be just as well off with a cornerback in McDonald’s shoes. He is as movable of a defensive lineman as there is in the NFL.
Outside of his lack of size and strength, McDonald’s primary issue is his mentality. He constantly loses reps by treating run defense like pass rushing; i.e. trying to defeat the blocker instead of just doing his job.
McDonald only has one mentality: go. It helps him rack up plenty of production as a pass rusher, but he is unable to flip the switch when he sees a run play, and it causes him to be a major liability in that phase. To improve his run defense, he needs to start focusing on fulfilling his responsibility instead of chasing big plays.
The key for McDonald is to master the ability to flip his mentality at the moment he recognizes a run. He does not want to lose the aggressiveness that makes him an excellent pass rusher, but he must become a better run defender to last as a quality starter in the NFL, and that will only happen if he plays the run with a more disciplined mentality. So, he needs to get better at flipping the switch from aggressive to disciplined when he confirms that a run is coming.
McDonald’s run defense is one of the biggest X-factors on the Jets’ roster going forward. If he fails to improve, it will all but cancel out his pass-rushing impact, making him a net-zero starter at best. But if he can become a league-average run defender, his overall impact will skyrocket. Even at his size, league-average is an attainable goal if he can iron out the wrinkles in his fundamentals.
McDonald must take it upon himself to work hard toward improving in this phase. It is also on the Jets’ coaching staff to give him the best chance of doing so. Defensive line coach Eric Washington and assistant defensive line coach Cameron Davis have their work cut out for them.
There is nowhere to go but up for McDonald as a run defender. His progress in this phase will determine his overall value to the Jets going forward.
