Gang Green Nation
During the best days defensively of the Robert Saleh/Jeff Ulbrich era, the deepest position on the Jets roster was defensive end. The Jets enter 2025 with some high end talent. How much depth they will have comes down to player development.
Will McDonald
It would be fair to say plenty of eyebrows were raised when the Jets picked McDonald 15th overall in the 2023 NFL Draft. After a quiet rookie season, the selection of McDonald had plenty of detractors.
A sophomore campaign where McDonald registered 10.5 sacks has quieted many of his detractors. Now what can McDonald do for an encore?
In truth, McDonald had a bit of an odd 2025 season that is tough to analyze. A number of his sacks came on plays where he just happened to be at the right place at the right time and/or was unblocked.
Still, his pressure rate was good. In some ways, he was a bit unlucky to not have a higher sack total from plays where he beat an offensive lineman one on one. In the end, things probably evened out.
McDonald probably won’t be gift wrapped as many sacks this year, but he probably will convert a higher rate of conventional pressures into sacks.
The real question is whether McDonald can improve against the run in year three. While Will proved himself to be an above average pass rusher in 2024, there’s no way around it. He was a liability in the run game. There is hope on this front. McDonald has come into training camp bulked up. Since he entered the NFL, it seemed to me like he had the frame to add bulk and not lose any explosiveness. The Jets hope with that bulk comes strength and with that strength comes the ability to set the edge in the run game. If he can become a competent player in this area, he can stay on the field for three downs and have plenty of opportunities to get after the passer.
Jermaine Johnson
Johnson’s first two seasons in the NFL were successful. He earned a spot in the Jets defensive end rotation in a better than you remember rookie season in 2022. In 2023, he took on a starting role and showed he could be effective both against the run and as a pass rusher.
Unfortunately, Jermaine suffered a torn Achilles tendon in the Jets’ Week 2 win over the Titans in 2024 and missed the rest of the season.
For Johnson the real questions are how fully he can recover from the injury and how quickly. Preinjury he was a high caliber player. We have seen Achilles injuries significantly impact NFL careers. We have seen players recover from them. Which will Johnson be? Time will tell.
Since he got a late start in training camp, we can presume the Jets are likely to keep Johnson on a pitch count early in the season to play it safe. What happens...
