Will McDonald proving NY Jets coaching staff's weight concerns are overblown

The NY Jets' coaching staff has expressed concerns about Will McDonald's weight going into his second NFL season. The team hoped to see McDonald, who weighs roughly 235 pounds, bulk up in the offseason to add to his slight frame.

McDonald even expressed a desire to put on some weight when speaking to reporters a few months ago, insisting that he planned to weigh 250-255 pounds by the time he showed up to OTAs in the spring. Evidently, that didn't happen.

The Jets don't seem to believe that McDonald can hold up as an every-down player at his current weight, but the former first-round pick is doing everything he can to prove them wrong. He helped his case with a solid showing in the team's second preseason game.

McDonald added his first sack of the summer in the Jets' 15-12 win over the Carolina Panthers on Saturday, hitting a nasty spin move on Panthers right tackle Ricky Lee to bring down the quarterback behind the line of scrimmage.

The Jets may be concerned about McDonald's size, but many believe those concerns are overblown. Just ask Senior Bowl director Jim Nagy.

The NY Jets need to unleash Will McDonald in 2024

Nagy correctly points out that if McDonald were to bulk up and add more weight, he might lose some of the explosiveness that makes him such a special and dangerous pass rusher.

McDonald frequently played as an interior rusher or as a 4i rusher shading the inside shoulder of the tackle while at Iowa State and never seemed to have any trouble getting to the quarterback. Of course, college isn't the same as the NFL, but he's proven that he has the strength to overcome his lack of size.

Jets head coach Robert Saleh has publicly stated that he believes McDonald is "much stronger" than he was a year ago. If true, that should present a path forward to more playing time for the former Iowa State star.

McDonald played fewer offensive or defensive snaps than any first-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft last year and fewer snaps than any Jets first-round pick since Vernon Gholston. Despite the uncertainty in the Jets' edge rush room this season, McDonald isn't guaranteed a significantly larger role.

The Jets seem to prefer a player like Micheal Clemons who, despite his flaws, has the body type to hold up as a three-down player in the team's eyes. Jets defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich said just that when speaking to reporters last week.

McDonald has been pigeonholed into a third-down pass-rush specialist role — the same role Bryce Huff was pigeonholed into for much of his Jets tenure.

Of course, it would be unreasonable to expect McDonald to produce at the rate Huff did. After all, Huff was the most efficient pass rusher in the NFL on a per-snap basis two years in a row. McDonald likely isn't going to match that.

Still, if the Jets want to get the most out of their front four, especially if Haason Reddick's holdout extends into the regular season, it would be wise to get McDonald on the field more than just a few snaps per game.

Will McDonald is proving that he doesn't need to be 250+ pounds to be effective. It's time for the Jets' coaching staff to catch on.

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