(2023) Will McDonald IV-EDGE-Iowa State
Will McDonald IV
EDGE
6’3, 236
RS Senior
2022 Statistics (Per PFF)
*(Ranking is out of the 241 EDGE/LB with 200+ pass rush snaps this season)
Write-Up:
Will McDonald IV is a senior edge rusher who played all 5 of his collegiate seasons at Iowa State. After a redshirt 1st season with the Cyclones McDonald was extremely productive, creating 127 pressures and 35 sacks during his time at the program. His stats dropped off dramatically this season as compared to 2021, partly due to being moved to a more interior role.
It was a very confusing switch to move McDonald to a more B-Gap filling role, because of what McDonald brings as a pass rusher. He possesses fantastic downhill speed and great burst off the line of scrimmage that really allows him to catch a lot of tackles out of position. He has very long arms, despite being a bit shorter for an edge rusher which makes his entire rush package even more dangerous. McDonald is a high effort player and his twitchiness is evident on nearly every play. He has a deep bag of pass rush moves, including a deadly spin move, and a rip and dip maneuver, along with a few others used at various times. He can be very unpredictable as a rusher in his approach. In run defense, he can use his bag of tricks to create space for himself and is one of the most secure tacklers at the edge position in the class.
Despite all of the good things McDonald puts on tape, there are a couple of issues that he needs to clean up at the next level. As mentioned before, he did play more towards the interior of the defensive line and really struggled to create much of anything. He was often just overpowered by interior linemen, and could not use his speed to his advantage. One reason they may have moved McDonald to the interior is due to his lateral quickness. While his downhill speed and burst is outstanding, he can really struggle when changing direction and moving from side to side. It's odd for somebody who is fairly twitchy, but this lack of lateral movement is apparent on tape. This rears its head quite often in the run game, where McDonald can often struggle to contain the edge or cut inside blockers to fill run gaps.
Overall, Will McDonald IV certainly has a lot of the tools to become a very successful edge rusher at the next level, including an impressive pass rush arsenal and burst off the line. There are some size concerns and his lateral mobility is something to keep an eye on, but McDonald could become a of the better sleeper prospects in this edge class.
Draft Projection: Round 2-3
Comments
Post a Comment