No Haason Reddick. No Jermaine Johnson. The stage was set for Will McDonald in the New York Jets' home opener, and the 2023 first-round draft pick delivered a showstopper.
Making his first career start, McDonald accounted for 2.0 sacks and four quarterback hits in a 24-3 victory over the divisional rival New England Patriots.
"Will's done a great job taking advantage of it. He's been doing it since training camp," said Jets' head coach Robert Saleh on Friday. "For him, it's kind of a blessing. Without Haason being here, it's given him a lot more reps than he probably would've taken had he been here."
Through three games, McDonald has already logged more than half of the total defensive snaps he compiled last season: The slimmer-than-average defensive end experienced difficulty breaking into the Jets' rotation after being selected at No. 15 overall in the 2023 NFL Draft. As a result, critics questioned New York's first-round pick in hindsight and wondered if he would be the next Vernon Gholston.
"Just had to be patient. He’s coming along, though," said Saleh after the Thursday Night Football win.
Averaging 33.3 defensive snaps per outing, McDonald has already surpassed the season sack total he produced as a rookie. Starting against the Patriots in primetime, McDonald was shot out of a canon as the Jets limited their opponent to 2.9 yards per play and one lonely field goal.
In the Week 2 road win over the Tennessee Titans, McDonald was credited with 3.0 sacks and one forced fumble. As he embarks on his long weekend, the edge rusher sits atop the AFC with 5.0 sacks, all of which have come in the past two games. Not bad for a player who was labeled a draft bust less than one month ago.
"I just got to continue to play my role. After Jermaine went down, I just had to step up," said McDonald.
After losing Johnson for the season, the Jets didn't skip a beat on Thursday night by replacing one first-round talent with another.
