Will McDonald IV has been a man on a mission all offseason, and that mission is a great one.
McDonald has hired a chef, a strength trainer and an agility trainer, and his breakout season ranks him third in the NFL behind Trey Hendrickson (11) and Dexter Lawrence (nine). He recorded the most sacks (8).
It allows Will McDonald IV to dream.
“My goal is to be at least 20 years old,” he told the Post. “I definitely aim for 20 or more to break that sack record.”
Mark Gastineau holds the Jets franchise record with 22. Michael Strahan and TJ Watt share the NFL record with 22.5.
Even with Haason Reddick now on the other side of the D-line, few would think McDonald's lofty goals are realistic with only eight games remaining. He's not one of those few.
“It's going to build up every week,” he said. “I’m not too worried as long as we can win, but it will happen eventually.”
McDonald had a breakout season after a rookie season in which his opportunities were limited (three sacks).
When asked if he had anything to prove, he replied: That's ultimately what I strive for, not to be good, but to be great. …I am 100 percent completely confident that I am a great person. ”
McDonald went from being in the low 230s to 245-248 pounds.
“I'm going to do the same thing whether I'm small or big,” he said.
Record for sacks in a single season with 22. Getty Images
His spin moves are deadly.
“It’s just something I perfected,” he said. “Actually, I didn't use it much when I was in college. [Iowa State]But coming into the league, it's just something I perfected. ”
Now it's easier for him to convert speed into power.
“For me, it's made a lot of things easier because now I can tackle them on their heels because I have more opportunities to play against them,” McDonald said. “It just makes them think, 'Okay, he's going to do this?' Is he going to do that?” Instead of coming in once, taking charge once, then switching sides, blah, blah, this and that. Now you can get people to follow you and you can play with it. ”
The Jets don't hesitate to line up McDonald on either side of the ball.
“It doesn't even matter which side I'm on,” McDonald said. “You want to make sure your tackles are always following their heels.”
Defensive line coach Aaron Whitecotton was asked about the biggest improvement McDonald has made this season.
“How much time do you have?” he said. “Obviously, the No. 1 reason is his maturity and professionalism. It's not that he wasn't professional, he was never the type of player you questioned last season, but just learning the game and off the field. He's not a social media guy, look at me, look at what I'm doing. ”
Whitecotton mentioned chefs and trainers, adding: He’s learning the game, he’s learning the schemes, he’s at a much higher level. Against Pittsburgh, we just couldn't quite get on the same page on one third down from a D-line standpoint and trying to set up the game. And he figured out what was going on and fixed it, so we were fine. ”
McDonald's target for Sunday's game against the Cardinals is the elusive Kyler Murray.
“Hurrying the passer is something you can't teach,” DJ Reed told the Post. “Some guys just have a knack for beating offensive linemen and have that flexibility and explosiveness. And he has something that's pretty unstoppable, as well as a spin move. . He has more moves than that, but that's kind of his bread and butter.”
Jets GM Joe Douglas was criticized for selecting McDonald with the 15th pick in the 2023 draft, with wide receiver Jackson Smith-Njiba still on the roster.
“Everyone was like, 'Oh, we should have drafted this with this,' just being a fan. 'Oh, we didn't need a defensive end.' is leading or at the top of the league in sacks. I’m happy for him,” Reed said.
McDonald also had two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery, improving on his edge settings.
“We thought he would be a great fit for our job and wanted to go through the draft process,” Whitecotton said.
McDonald is wearing Gastineau's old 99.
I’m just saying.”
