Will McDonald has perfect chance to prove Jets dodged major draft mistake

The New York Jets will open up the Aaron Glenn era against the Pittsburgh Steelers at MetLife Stadium on Sunday. This will be one of two home games back-to-back to open up the 2025 season for the green and white.

For both the Jets and Steelers, this game lacks no storylines, with the two quarterbacks at the forefront. Justin Fields and Aaron Rodgers will be looking for revenge on their former employers after the two signal-callers flipped teams this offseason.

With a lot of focus on the quarterbacks, and rightfully so, fans can't lose sight of other key matchups both offensively and defensively that will take place on Sunday.

One of the biggest matchups to watch is a battle of two 2023 first-round picks in Will McDonald and Broderick Jones.

Will McDonald has a favorable matchup against 2023 draft foe in NY Jets opener

While the Jets and Steelers have only faced off once since McDonald and Jones entered the league in 2023, the pass rusher and offensive tackle have a track record going back to the draft.

All signs pointed towards former Jets general manager Joe Douglas taking Broderick Jones with the 15th overall pick in the 2023 draft until the Steelers moved up with the Patriots to pick 14 and selected the tackle out of Georgia.

The Jets were then left to settle with Will McDonald, and in the moment, it looked like the Jets would be the team hurt by the trade, but that has been far from the case.

Through two seasons of 34 games played and 27 starts, Broderick Jones has been one of the worst tackles in the NFL. Jones went through a lot of rookie growing pains in year one, but the most alarming aspect of his game was his regression in year two, which ultimately led to his benching.

The Georgia product finished with an ugly 58.5 Pro Football Focus grade and a 54.6 pass blocking grade, both ranking well below average among all offensive tackles.

Even more alarming, Jones committed a career high in penalties with ten on the season, eight more than he did as a rookie. The 24-year-old also allowed ten sacks, which was the third most among tackles, and 43 pressures, ranking seventh most.

Jones saw McDonald last year and allowed a sack against the blossoming pass rusher from the right side. Now, McDonald will see Jones from the left side as the Steelers hope switching the struggling tackle to Rodgers' blindside will benefit them up front.

Will McDonald should be dominant in this matchup and could be the difference for the Jets on Sunday. Coming off a 10.5 sack and 61 pressure season, McDonald, facing Jones in his first start at left tackle, should be a recipe for success.

It will be another opportunity for McDonald to prove the Jets avoided a major draft mistake and open up what should be a monster campaign for the 26-year-old pass rusher.

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