On the surface level, Will McDonald IV had a pretty disappointing rookie season for the New York Jets with just three sacks and 12 pressures per Pro Football Focus. However, he was also buried on the depth chart as the Jets had a very deep defensive line.

For example, McDonald’s 12 pressures came on 99 pass-rush snaps which comes out to about a decent pressure rate of a little more than 12 percent. That’s nearly identical to Jermaine Johnson’s figure of 12.6 percent (56 pressures on 445 opportunities) and Johnson ended up making the Pro Bowl.

So, the 2023 first-round pick could be equally productive as his teammate if he just maintains the same pace as last season and is given a bigger opportunity. The latter could happen now that Bryce Huff is in Philadelphia.

Granted, the Jets did trade for Haason Reddick this offseason, but Reddick hasn’t even practiced with the team yet as he missed OTAs and minicamp and is currently holding out of training camp. That’s already led to more opportunities for McDonald to prove himself in practice, which he appears to be making the most of according to head coach Robert Saleh.

“Will, much, much stronger. I know he looks the same, but his strength in the run game, his strength in the pass game is showing up,” Saleh told reporters on Wednesday, via Jets Wire’s Kristian Dyer. “He’s flashed a little bit. I know he’s gotten a couple of wins on our starting tackles, and I really like the way he’s progressing.”