Robert Saleh: Will McDonald has benefitted from Haason Reddick’s absence

When Jermaine Johnson tore his Achilles last Sunday, one of the reactions was that the Jets would feel more urgency to find a way to get Haason Reddick to report to the team because of their need to improve their options off the edge of the defense.

2023 first-round pick Will McDonald is doing his best to make the argument that the team is alright. McDonald had three sacks in the Week Two win over the Titans and then followed that up with two sacks, four quarterback hits, and six pressures in Thursday night’s win over the Patriots.

McDonald played sparingly as a rookie and Jets head coach Robert Saleh said on Friday morning that he thinks Reddick’s absence has been a plus for the second-year player.

“Will’s done a great job taking advantage,” Saleh said, via SNY. “He’s been doing it since training camp. For him, it’s kind of a blessing without Haason being here, it’s given him a lot more reps than he would’ve taken had he been here. Credit to Will, he’s worked on it. He’s getting better and better, and he’s only going to get better.”

More depth would still be welcome for the long run, but McDonald continuing to have a breakout year would make life easier for the Jets under any circumstances.