Will McDonald sliding down NY Jets depth chart after slow start to camp

The NY Jets are counting on former first-round pick Will McDonald to take a sizable step forward in his second NFL season. McDonald is expected to take on a larger role in the Jets' defense after a quiet rookie season.

Unfortunately, the early reports coming out of training camp aren't very promising. Not only has McDonald had a slow start to the summer but he's seemingly already sliding down the depth chart.

SNY's Connor Hughes reported on Monday that "McDonald hasn’t flashed much in camp and others are beginning to work in front of him." That's not a particularly encouraging report about a player the Jets are relying on in 2024.

Jets head coach Robert Saleh told reporters on Monday that McDonald didn't put on any weight this offseason but that did add muscle. The Jets are trying to teach the second-year pass rusher to "go through people" and not just around them.

As Hughes noted, that's "clearly a work in progress."

Should NY Jets fans be concerned about Will McDonald?

The Jets don't trust McDonald's run defense just yet, and it's even more alarming that he hasn't flashed as a pass rusher in practice. It's still early, but it's fair to have some level of concern about the former Iowa State star.

The McDonald pick was heavily criticized by fans at the time, especially given the team's overabundance of pass-rush talent. McDonald's presence was part of the reason the Jets felt comfortable parting ways with Bryce Huff this offseason.

In a perfect world, McDonald could assume the Huff role in the Jets' defense. McDonald played just 16 percent of the Jets' defensive snaps in 2023, fewer than guys like Adrian Amos and Jamien Sherwood.

There wasn't a single first-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft who played fewer offensive or defensive snaps as a rookie than McDonald. You have to go all the way back to Vernon Gholston to find a Jets first-round pick who played fewer snaps in their rookie season.

The Jets expect McDonald to play more in his second year in the NFL, but anyone expecting him to play more than 40 percent of snaps has set the bar too high. Barring injury, McDonald will likely be used as a situational pass-rusher, primarily in third-down situations.

That's the role the Jets pigeonholed Huff into for most of his career before finally giving him an expanded workload in the latter half of 2023, and that's probably the role the Jets envision for Huff.

The only difference is Huff proved to be one of the most efficient pass rushers in the entire NFL over the last two seasons. McDonald will have big shoes to fill, and his slow start to the summer doesn't provide encouragement.

The Jets are still hoping to unleash Will McDonald on opposing quarterbacks this season, but they'd like to see a bit more progress from the 25-year-old pass rusher over the next few weeks.