Jets 2023 NFL Draft takeaways: Why Will McDonald won’t play a lot
The Jets surprised people on Thursday night by taking edge rusher Will McDonald with the No. 15 general choose within the 2023 NFL Draft.
The expectation had been the Jets would take an offensive sort out however with the highest 4 all off the board, the Jets needed to pivot.
They added to an already deep edge dashing group as a result of they imagine McDonald could be particular.
The Jets had him rated as one of the best go rusher within the draft.
That doesn’t imply he was one of the best general participant at edge rusher of their group however for the particular talent of dashing, he was the highest man for them.
There are questions on his age (24 this season) and measurement (240 kilos) however you possibly can’t query his manufacturing in school and the Jets love his traits.
Listed here are a few of my ideas on the choose:
1. My largest query is, how Robert Saleh goes to get all these edge guys on the sphere?
The Jets defensive finish group seems to be like this proper now: Carl Lawson, John Franklin-Myers, Jermaine Johnson, Bryce Huff, Micheal Clemons and McDonald. That’s plenty of guys.
Saleh likes to rotate gamers and ship “waves” of recent go rushers on the quarterback, however this can be a lot.
McDonald might be not able to play on first and second down as a rookie.
He wants so as to add measurement and modify to the NFL.
Meaning he can be a “designated go rusher,” coming in on third downs and different passing conditions.
However that can be the position Johnson and Huff fill proper now.
Might the Jets bump Clemons inside to defensive sort out?
That may make sense since that place seems to be skinny proper now.
Lawson and Huff are free brokers after this season, so McDonald has an excellent long-term future with the Jets.
It’s simply robust proper now to see what his position can be as a rookie.
You need the No. 15 general choose to be on the sphere and to have a right away influence.
That could be tough for McDonald.
2. Right here is why I hate overlaying the draft: we don’t know sufficient about these gamers to make any actual judgments after they’re picked.
I didn’t watch Iowa State play this yr.
I don’t understand how good McDonald is.
We depend on the draft gurus to inform us.
So if they are saying he’s a second-round choose and he goes in the course of the primary spherical, we predict it’s surprising and a shock.
We don’t know if 28 groups really had McDonald rated as excessive because the Jets.
That’s the reason it’s all the time wait and see with rookies.
Draft grades are extremely dumb.
We simply don’t know sufficient about these gamers, and the pre-draft narratives formed by the draftniks colours the notion of the participant when he’s drafted.
It’s not actually truthful and ought to be taken with a grain of salt.
3. This was an excellent evening for Mekhi Becton.
The 2020 first-round choose now has a clearer path to regaining a beginning job at both sort out spot this summer time.
If the Jets had drafted a sort out within the first spherical, issues would have gotten attention-grabbing with Becton and Duane Brown each coming back from accidents.
The Jets might nonetheless take a sort out on this draft however anybody now can be preventing to take the job from Becton or Brown.
Becton has gotten himself into nice form and if he can return to the shape he confirmed when he was wholesome as a rookie, the Jets offensive line could have a a lot totally different look from final yr.
4. One stat to take a look at with McDonald is his pressured fumbles.
He had 10 of them in his time at Iowa State.
Pretty much as good because the Jets protection was final yr, they didn’t create sufficient turnovers, notably down the stretch.
The Jets solely recovered 4 fumbles final season.
McDonald is lengthy (82 ⅜ inch wingspan) and will get nice bend across the edge.
“He’s simply bought a singular capability to catch the nook and he’s bought elite size to get the ball out, so he’s going to be particular,” Saleh mentioned.
5. The Jets enter Friday evening with just one pick in the second round and none within the third.
I believe Joe Douglas can be working onerous to discover a commerce accomplice to maneuver again and purchase extra picks.
The Jets solely have 4 extra picks on this draft.
Douglas comes from the Ravens faculty of getting a excessive quantity of picks.
If the Jets do stick at No. 43 general or even when they transfer again a bit, they should deal with the offensive line in some unspecified time in the future.
I believe heart strikes to the forefront now.
The Jets ought to have an opportunity at getting top-of-the-line facilities within the draft in Minnesota’s John Michael Schmitz or Wisconsin’s Joe Tippmann.
To me, that’s higher than taking the sixth-best sort out.
Linebacker and tight finish are additionally prospects as a result of there’s going to be worth there.