The Will McDonald Jets role isn’t hard to frame. It’s hard to settle. He can wreck a passing down in a way few players on this defense can, but Aaron Glenn can’t build every call around waiting for third and long. McDonald has to earn access to more situations without sanding down the burst and bend that make him worth discussing in the first place.
Why Will McDonald’s 2026 role is unsettled
This shouldn’t be forced into a starter or backup argument. Those labels tell us who jogs onto the field first. They don’t tell us who gets the valuable rush chances, who stays available when the offense can run or pass, or who Glenn trusts when the call asks an edge defender to do something besides chase the quarterback.
Empty or untrustworthy downs will cost McDonald snaps because Glenn has other viable edge profiles. Enagbare is the sturdier edge-setting comparison, while Bailey shows the value of discipline within the front. McDonald does not have to match either player’s game, but he has to give Glenn fewer reasons to reach for those answers.
McDonald has already identified the part that needs work. He said he added a couple of pounds and wants to use the added weight in the run game. Fine. August weight talk is not run-defense proof. The proof comes when his technique and decisions hold up against an offense that isn’t cooperating.
The pass-rush value the Jets cannot casually replace
Glenn called pass rushing McDonald’s “wheelhouse”, which might be the least controversial statement of camp. McDonald’s first step changes the geometry of a pass play. A tackle has to respect the outside track immediately, and McDonald has the flexibility to turn that urgency into a real problem.
There is team-level evidence worth considering too. RayCarp figures reported by Jets X-Factor had the Jets allowing +0.072 defensive EPA per play with McDonald on the field in 2025 and +0.251 with him off it, a difference of 0.179. That split ranked third among qualifying defensive linemen and first among edge rushers.
It does not isolate McDonald’s individual effect, and it certainly doesn’t prove he caused the difference. It reflects the entire defense on those plays. The quality of the players replacing him also affects the gap, a confounder Jets X-Factor noted. Still, dismissing it would be cute. The Jets were a less miserable defense in the team context measured when he was out there. Glenn shouldn’t toss away his best trait just because the rest of his game remains unfinished.
Why run defense still limits the deployment options
The problem isn’t that every early down is a run down or that every edge assignment is identical. Offenses would love defenses to think that lazily. The problem is uncertainty. If an opponent believes McDonald’s presence narrows what the Jets can trust him to handle, it gets an easier pre-snap picture and a cleaner plan after the snap.
Setting an edge can mean taking on force, controlling a gap, squeezing space or keeping the ball where help expects it. The exact job changes with the front and call. McDonald doesn’t need to become Enagbare. He does need to stop his run-game work from becoming the reason Glenn reaches for someone else whenever the situation is ambiguous.
That is why the added pounds are interesting but not persuasive by themselves. Mass helps only if it shows up with leverage, hands and correct reads. One bad rush angle can open a lane. One desperate attempt to slip a block can compromise teammates doing their jobs. The details showing up during Jets camp matter more than another round of declarations about becoming complete.
How Aaron Glenn can use McDonald across the front
Glenn at least has more to work with than a designated rusher glued to one spot. The Jets say McDonald can stand up at outside linebacker, put his hand down at defensive end and occasionally drop into coverage. The coverage part will make everyone hold their breath at first. It also gives Glenn a way to change the picture without changing the people.
Alignment flexibility only matters if the offense has to respect the possibilities. Move McDonald around and always send him, and the disguise dies quickly. Drop him too often and the Jets are volunteering to remove a dangerous rusher. The useful middle is making each alignment believable while still letting him attack often enough to punish protections.
The staff’s stated plan is to put him in positions where he can excel while developing the weaker parts of his game. That’s sensible, if vague. The real work is deciding when development belongs in a live defensive call and when the Jets simply need McDonald doing the thing he does best.
What a successful Will McDonald role would look like
Success won’t be proven by a ceremonial spot on a depth chart. It will look like McDonald remaining dangerous as a pass rusher while becoming trustworthy enough that his entrance doesn’t announce the defense’s intentions. Glenn should be able to use him from multiple alignments, keep offenses guessing and leave him on the field when the down offers more than one plausible answer.
I don’t need McDonald to turn into the safest edge defender in the room. I need the run-game mistakes to become less costly and less frequent, and the occasional coverage responsibility to be functional rather than decorative. If that happens, Glenn gets more calls with McDonald available and fewer reasons to protect him from the game.
The Jets shouldn’t ask him to become ordinary in pursuit of being complete. They also can’t pretend the holes don’t matter because the pass rush looks different when he is involved. A successful role preserves the rare part, improves the vulnerable part and makes McDonald usable when the offense hasn’t told the defense what is coming. That’s the version worth building toward.
