Is Defender Will McDonald First-Round Worthy?

After watching Iowa State’s defender Will McDonald on game film, First Round Mock’s NFL Draft Analyst Ken Becks tagged him with a first-round grade.

#9 Will McDonald IV

POSITION: Outside Linebacker (OLB)
SCHOOL: Iowa State
HEIGHT: 6-3
WEIGHT: 236

Evaluated Games:

Baylor ’22

Kansas State ’22

Texas ’22

Oklahoma State ’22

TCU ’22

Strengths

One of many reasons that influenced a position change from defensive end (DE) to outside linebacker (OLB) for McDonald (other than being extremely undersized at DE), was when he played stand-up edge, it QUICKLY became apparent MAXIMIZING his skills would come from playing OLB!

When deployed off the edge, McDonald really gets going when the ball is snapped. He does a good job instinctively extending his hands and effectively utilizing his balance/leverage versus blockers. On a regular basis, he demonstrated he is able to do this while actively displaying his natural pass-rushing skills to get to the passer!

McDonald shows an aggressive mentality on game day

Pound for pound his tenacity is apparent

While lined up at DE, he frequently was matched up against much larger blockers and he played much bigger than his listed size would indicate.

In pass rush mode, McDonald displays active hands and arm strength versus blockers. This allows him to quickly shed blockers while making his way to the ball. There were times he closed some of his pass rushes with a low arched bend, making him a real handful to deal with for blockers.

McDonald exhibits relentless effort pursuing the ball from sideline to sideline across the field. He also showed good closing speed and pursuit angles (almost allowing him to mimic the ball carrier’s movements). This allows him to contain the running play flow, while at the same time closing in to make a difference.

Additionally, he has good mobility to move around and make his way through traffic areas, and down the line of scrimmage in pursuit.

McDonald is a secure and violent tackler

Once he gets a hold of ball carriers they go down!

When dropping into coverage isolated in pass defense, McDonald looks more than comfortable defending the pass, which is yet another reason I feel comfortable projecting him to OLB.

Weaknesses

Sure, there will be skeptics out there who will question if McDonald can make the successful transition to OLB.

Granted, he is somewhat high-hipped, which can tend to cut down on a prospect’s maximum mobility and flexibility.

If anything, he does need to show more awareness containing the corners of the defense. While he does have the physical ability to do this, he needs to do a better job diagnosing, whether he is playing with his hand down in the dirt or if he is standing up.

2023 NFL Draft Prospect Value

First-Round (25 and down)

Scouting Report Summary

While right now not as people may be talking about McDonald, but I believe by the time he is on the field for his first play in an NFL game, all doubts will soon disappear.

His play at linebacker will do all the talking for him

Ken Becks [TheScout] has been covering & scouting NFL prospects for over 30 years! Ken has worked with the Indoor Football Scouting Bureau and he’s been mentioned in publications such as Scout.com, ABCNews.com, and TheNewsStar.com. He covers the NFL Draft for FirstRoundMock.com and he is the founder and Director of 1stDownScouting.com. Follow him @1stdown_scout on Twitter.