Iowa State Edge Will McDonald Flashes Ability

Evaluating and writing up guys like Will McDonald IV are always the most challenging and the most frustrating.

McDonald brings Alabama’s Will Anderson and former Oregon and current New York Giants’ Kayvon Thibodeaux to mind at times, while watching him play on game film.

However, then he pulls a magic trick and disappears.

McDonald plays with two different gears – – all out – – and not at all.

He will be a pleasant surprise for some NFL team if he is taken in the right round that reflects his game film and he will be a grave disappointment if a team takes him in the first round.

Drop in sack totals for McDonald

The first thing that jumped out at me when I was researching McDonald prior to putting on the game film was his numbers, and the thing that popped out was his sack production drop in 2022.

In 2020, he put up 10.5 sacks, and in 2021, he logged 11.5 sacks.

That number was slashed in half in 2022 (5.0 sacks), and by the looks of his game log (espn.com), he didn’t miss much action.

This is a concern, especially for a senior heading into draft season.

No question he has pass rushing ability

There are some plays with McDonald I was like…wow.

Consistently in this three-game study, he really turned it on – – at times.

When he turned it on, it was noticeable.

Twice against Kansas State he blew though the back door of the pocket against their right tackle, once stripping the ball from the quarterback who was moving around, and another time it resulted in a sack.

Throughout these three games, McDonald flashed a head fake, rip and swim moves. He also regularly showed the spin and double spin.

No question, he has pass-rushing tools.

Against Clemson, he flashed a fast close outside the pocket to the quarterback.

He made an inside money move against Iowa too and got a sack.

There’s just enough to fall in love with when it comes to McDonald, but not enough to marry if I was an NFL general manager. Despite his apparent natural ability, I left his game film feeling uninspired.

Endorsement deal for tissue paper?

I’m sorry, but sometimes McDonald looked as soft as tissue paper when he let his foot off the gas.

There were just too many times he was too easily handled in passing and running situations.

Whether it was getting handled by a double-team tight end and running back in a passing situation or when he got pushed out on a run.

There were a ton of plays in my notes that were “neutral,” neither good nor bad.

NFL teams can’t win with neutral or negative plays, and a guy from Iowa State needs to be giving more to stack up against the mainstream media guys they are pushing.

I question how important football is to McDonald because he has the ability, but I wouldn’t be able to write this article if I held my breath inbetween his high-impact plays.

#9 Will McDonald IV 6-foot-3, 236 pounds

Daniel Kelly’s Grade: Second-Round (late) – Winter 2022 Report

First Round Mock Big Board: TBD

Projected by 4.5% of the NFL Draft Community to be a first-round pick as of December 9, 2022 (nflmockdraftdatabase.com)

2021 game film reviewed: Kansas State, Clemson and Iowa (click to view games watched to form this evaluation)

2021 stats: 36 tackles (24 solo, 12 assists), 11.5 sacks, 5 forced fumbles, 2 passes defended

2022 stats: 36 tackles (23 solo, 3 assists), 5.0 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 4 passes defended

2023 NFL Draft Scouting Report:

Lean athletic cut edge who is inconsistent rushing the passer and defending the run. Lined up standing up and with his hand down in the dirt. Flip-flopped from side to side to test. Flashed fast get off at the snap. Showed ability to bend the edge. Uses hands well and flashed fast close. A polished pass rusher who has several pass-rushing moves and can get under pad level at the back door of the pocket. While he can disrupt outside or inside, also can get equally stalemated and stopped dead in his tracks. Done against double teams. Has a knack for causing disruption. Mixed bag against the run. Showed he could come off blocks and make hard wrapping tackles and showed he could be handled too. Prospect with pass-rushing upside.

Bottom line:

It will come down to what he shows in his 2022 game film.

Daniel Kelly is a former NFL Scout with the New York Jets. He was hired on the regime which featured Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick, Scott Pioli, Mike Tannenbaum, and Dick Haley. He currently writes for Sports Illustrated New York Jets and he is the Editor-in-Chief for First Round Mock. For more information about him visit his website at whateverittakesbook.com. He can be followed on Twitter @firstroundmock.