Will McDonald IV hasn’t seen the field much in his rookie season with the New York Jets. Even though a lack of snaps could frustrate a first-year player, McDonald is doing his best to not let it affect him.
“I don’t really want to rush things, but I know that I can make a lot of impact,” McDonald said, via ESPN. “We’ve got a lot of dudes in the room that can impact the game, so it’s really just like whenever each of us get our opportunities, we just have to ball out.”
The Jets used the 15th overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft on McDonald out of Iowa State. The former Cyclone tallied 27 total sacks in his final three collegiate seasons, and he was expected to join a Jets pass-rushing unit that just added Jermaine Johnson in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
Similar to Johnson, McDonald has seen a severely limited role in his rookie campaign. But unlike Johnson, McDonald is on pace to become the first first-round rookie for the Jets since Vernon Gholston in 2008 to play fewer than 200 snaps.
The only first-round rookie with fewer snaps than McDonald this season is Nolan Smith on the Philadelphia Eagles. It’s tough for Smith to see playing time as the Eagles boast an edge-rusher group of Haason Reddick, Brandon Graham, and Josh Sweat.
We’ve seen McDonald get a little more playing time in recent weeks as he logged 14 defensive snaps in Week 12 versus the Miami Dolphins. At the same time, Micheal Clemons was ejected from the game and the Jets were being blown out, which led to McDonald seeing more action.
While McDonald has half a sack, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery in nine appearances this season, the young edge rusher is just trying to make the most of his limited opportunities right now.
