Second-year pass rusher Will McDonald has emerged as a key player for the New York Jets’ defense to start his sophomore campaign. McDonald is second in the NFL with 5.0 sacks, trailing only Aidan Hutchinson of the Detroit Lions.
Yet, Jets head coach Robert Saleh insists McDonald has even more to offer.
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“I still don’t think he’s even reached where he’s going to go. He’s only a second-year kid,” Saleh said on Wednesday. “There’s still parts of his pass rush that need to improve, but all these young men, you just give them a chance to, and again, our philosophy and all that, just put them on repeat and let them do the same things over and over again.”
“Will’s learning every day,” Saleh added. “He strains every day. He works every day and because of it, I think he’s going to continue to get better. Like I’ve said before, some guys do it right away, some guys take three or four years. You just got to continue working with them and give them a chance to develop.”
The Jets selected McDonald with the 15th overall pick in the first round of the 2023 NFL draft. McDonald had a small role in his rookie season, playing only 184 defensive snaps, but he showed flashes in limited playing time, recording 3.0 sacks, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery on just 99 pass-rush snaps.
However, McDonald has been given an increased role to start the 2024 season due to Haason Reddick’s continued absence followed by Jermaine Johnson’s season-ending Achilles injury. McDonald has capitalized on the opportunity, emerging as the Jets’ most productive pass rusher through the first three games of the season. In addition to his team-high 5.0 sacks, he also leads the team with 10 pressures.
McDonald looks to continue to impress throughout the remainder of the season, starting this Sunday as the Jets host the Denver Broncos.
