I don’t really remember a lot of first round defensive ends (top 15 no less), that get almost a full redshirt year and go on to be really good edge rushers. Year one is pretty important for ends to get used to the speed of the game and run/pass recognition which is probably the hardest part of the game for a speed end to understand. It’s just not usually a position that’s brought along slowly, which makes the position selection alarming but it also is a bit concerning for the player.
JJ was used pretty much the same last year as WMD has been this year. very little usage early and then more as the season went on. he finished at 34% of the snaps. WMD is currently at 16% of the snaps. JJ had 29% on special teams. WMD has 32% currently. and while not a 1st rounder huff was at 30% as a rookie then 51% then 20% and now 39%. just kinda how saleh runs his system
thomas had an 11 year career with us and turned out to be a solid player. he just wasn't a stud but he was no vernon gholston
Sure hope Will McD ends up being an elite edge defender but the early returns and comps are not encouraging. From Cimini this week "Last time a Jets first-round pick played as little as Will McDonald was Gholston in ‘08". -- For quick comparisons: John Abraham had 4.5 sacks, 3 TLF and 2 FF in only 6 games as a rookie. Ellis had 8.5 sacks that year as a rookie. In this year's rookie class, there are 27 players with at least one sack https://www.statmuse.com/nfl/ask/nfl-rookie-sack-leaders-2023. Clemons and JJ each had 2.5 sacks apiece last year.
I can live with a lack of sack production. The worrisome part is that he’s not learning on the field. It’s not a sit on the bench and learn type of position like quarterback or even to an extent how wide receiver and tightend used to be. You draft that guy and toss em in there. They more than likely aren’t going to put up big sack numbers but they’re going to get acclimated to the game speed. He’s also 24 years old coming into the season. He’ll be pushing 29 by his second contract. By comparison, he’s 3 months younger than Becton.
He was drafted with the assumption we are letting Bryce Huff walk, which was wild. He is a top 5-7 DE in the game this year. You keep that homegrown talent.
I think McDonald is a terrible pick because there were other bigger needs. But his snaps have been increased the last couple weeks. If McDonald goes the rest of the season like he has the last couple weeks he will end up with around 12 NFL games with over 20% of the defensive snaps. That is very similar to Jermaine Johnson's rookie year who also was inactive for a couple games but finished with 14 NFL games with around 30% of the defensive snaps. Johnson has 5 sacks so far this year and seems to be fine. Definitely this time last year we had our concerns on Johnson too
We also did a similar thing with JJ. We grabbed Sauce instead of Thibb which put us behind the 8 ball when we needed an edge. So JD decided to trade up for JJ, spending a high 2nd and high 3rd on him (35, 69). Not only is this spending 2 high picks for one player, Boye Mafe has been better than JJ and he would have been available with our original second. If we would have taken Thibbs we wouldn't have needed to take JJ or WMD. That saves 3 more high picks, plus you get a top edge. You cant lock in on players when rebuilding, and taking a CB at 4 in a year we needed an edge was more expensive than it looked.
The JJ trade up pissed me off when it happened but he seems like a good player. I just don’t get why we accumulated all those picks to continue moving up in the draft when we still have so many holes and such shitty depth. I wanted Thibideaux with the Sauce pick but as G&C said it’s hard to be mad that we took Sauce.
They picked who they thought was the BPA and best choice for the future. Many picks don't immediately have impact. JJ took some time to get into NFL conditioning. Calling McDonald a bad pick after half a season at a stacked position is as stupid as it gets. It's like you clowns totally forgot about Zach Wilson, Denzel Mims, Elijah Moore, Michael Carter, Perriman, Greg Van Roten, Chuck Clark, Uzamah. WMD doesn't even peak the radar of bad moves especially not this early in his career.
Cimini's a moron. The Jets weren't stacked at Edge when they brought in Gholston, of course he got more snaps. WMD has already surpassed Gholston in stats, despite just 16% of snaps. Apples to oranges, but that's Cimini for you.
So you think they should have taken snaps away from Huff & JJ and just "threw him out there..." LMFAO!
he knew what he was doing with that phrase. Using a legendary bust like Gholston in the same sentence generates a response for sure. I agree with you though, McDonald's not Gholston level bad at all
Sauce is a great CB but it was bad team building. It cost us extra picks in 2021 and likely cost us 15 in 2022. We could have had a top DE and kept picks 15, 35, and 69 to use on other positions. Or maybe he would have taken WMD even with Thibs. I can't predict JD anymore.
No, but you further make the point that it was dumb as fuck to take a defensive end over an offensive asset given the fact that they couldn’t even get the guy snaps. JFM and Clemons also get snaps at end. So we were two deep on either side and took a defensive end to be #5.
LOL-once again, as I've stated numerous times- I think Will Mcdonald is going to be a good player. "They picked who they thought was the BPA and best choice for the future" Oh yeah, like I trust Joe Douglas based on the list you provided in your next point. You just drafted JJ a year prior, and have seen promising signs from Bryce Huff coming into the season. A pass rusher was not needed, especially as many are calling it "a developmental pass rusher." This was a win now year for the Jets before the AR injury. So yes once again, Will Mcdonald was one of Joe D's worst moves in addition to many others!
