Will McDonald IV is a career quality starter β a pass rusher whose body of work places McDonald in the top quarter of all players at the position historically. The Knox model values sustained contribution over flash, and McDonald's career arc reflects exactly that kind of reliable professional-grade performance.
Will McDonald IV
Height6'4"
Weight245 lb
BornJun 4, 1999
Age27
CollegeIowa StateSee College Stats
ConferenceBig Twelve
Rookie yr2023
Draft2023 Β· Rd 1, Pick 15 Β· NYJ
A high-end edge rusher defined as much by exceptional availability β almost never missed time as by their on-field impact (top 20% all-time). Coaches and teammates could count on them being available.
Career Value Β· VORP
VORP 74 Β· #1553 Β· Above AverageWorth 74 points of value above a freely-available replacement edge rusher β top 34% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 3 of 3 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +24.7 on average.See board β
Seasons above replacement
3 cleared
Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it β adds 0, never a debit
51
Replacement
the KC-H bar
β
3
Seasons over
cleared the bar
Γ
+24.7
Avg surplus
peak +35
3 seasons Γ ~24.7 surplus β VORP 74
Combined Season Grid
The full season-by-season grids, joined on one timeline. Every selected stat family stays visible at onceβno tab hopping.
3 grids split in one view
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Defense | Snap Counts | Advanced Defense & Coverage (2018+) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tkl | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits | Sk | Dis | Int | PD | FF | FR | TD | Sfty | Off | Off% | Def | Def% | ST | ST% | Tgt | Cmp | Cmp% | RateAll | ADOT | Prss | Hrry | QBKD | Bltz | MissTkl | Miss% | |||||
| 2023 | β | NYJ | 10 | β | 13 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3.0 | 12.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | β | 0 | 0 | β | 0.0% | 184 | 19.1% | 128 | 31.5% | 0 | 0 | β | β | β | 7 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0.1 |
| 2024 | β | NYJ | 16 | β | 23 | 13 | 10 | 11 | 24 | 10.5 | 45.5 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | β | 0.0% | 758 | 65.5% | 15 | 6.2% | 2 | 2 | 1.0 | 83.3 | -4.0 | 38 | 14 | 12 | 3 | 5 | 0.2 |
| 2025 | β | NYJ | 12 | β | 28 | 17 | 11 | 10 | 19 | 8.0 | 37.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | 0.0% | 649 | 65.3% | 82 | 20.2% | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 95.8 | 0.0 | 20 | 2 | 10 | 2 | 8 | 0.2 |
| Career | β | 38 | β | 64 | 38 | 26 | 25 | 48 | 21.5 | 94.5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | β | 0.0% | 1,591 | 50.0% | 225 | 19.3% | 3 | 3 | β | β | β | 65 | 17 | 24 | 5 | 14 | β | |
Defense
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Tkl | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits | Sk | Dis | Int | PD | FF | FR | TD | Sfty | VAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 24 | NYJ | 10 | 0* | 13 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3.0 | 12.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | β | 0 | 0 | 6.8 |
| 2024 | 25 | NYJ | 16 | 11* | 23 | 13 | 10 | 11 | 24 | 10.5 | 45.5 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 19.6 |
| 2025 | 26 | NYJ | 12 | 10* | 28 | 17 | 11 | 10 | 19 | 8.0 | 37.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 | 13.9 |
| Career | 38 | 21* | 64 | 38 | 26 | 25 | 48 | β | β | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 40.3 |
* GS not available from free sources β SG* estimated from snap share (nflverse 2012+)
Snap Counts
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Off | Off% | Def | Def% | ST | ST% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 24 | NYJ | 15 | 0* | β | 0.0% | 184 | 19.1% | 128 | 31.5% |
| 2024 | 25 | NYJ | 17 | 11* | β | 0.0% | 758 | 65.5% | 15 | 6.2% |
| 2025 | 26 | NYJ | 15 | 10* | β | 0.0% | 649 | 65.3% | 82 | 20.2% |
| Career | 47 | 21* | β | β | 1,591 | β | 225 | β |
* GS not available from free sources β SG* estimated from snap share (nflverse 2012+)
Advanced Defense & Coverage (2018+)
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Tgt | Cmp | Cmp% | RateAll | ADOT | Prss | Hrry | QBKD | Bltz | MissTkl | Miss% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 24 | NYJ | 15 | 0* | 0 | 0 | β | β | β | 7 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0.1 |
| 2024 | 25 | NYJ | 17 | 11* | 2 | 2 | 1.0 | 83.3 | -4.0 | 38 | 14 | 12 | 3 | 5 | 0.2 |
| 2025 | 26 | NYJ | 15 | 10* | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 95.8 | 0.0 | 20 | 2 | 10 | 2 | 8 | 0.2 |
| Career | 47 | 21* | 3 | 3 | β | β | β | 65 | 17 | 24 | 5 | 14 | β |
* GS not available from free sources β SG* estimated from snap share (nflverse 2012+)
KV-H Anatomy
KV-H 66 Β· Strong StarterA strong starter career by KV-H: a remarkably steady profile that scores 66 of 100, era-normalized against sacks/g peers across 3 scored seasons, with a short career trimming the score.
78
Sustained
career value
Γ.6
76
Peak
best 3 seasons
Γ.4
Γ0.86
Longevity
career length
Blend 77.2 Γ longevity 0.86 = KV-H 66Β· confidence 100%
What builds the career mark of 78
On-field 62.4
On-field production Staying available
Season-by-season quality (era-relative sacks/g)
2023bestavg 76elite 702025
Team Carrier Evidence
Ranked #361 of 600 by seasons where high individual production happened on low-win teams. Score aggregates only tracked StatVault categories.
All-Time Standing
how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position10
Depth
of 100
Reached 11% of the all-time Sacks leader β a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.
11% of the all-time Sacks leader11
0 categories β₯25% of the all-time leader0
A 0β100 scale where 100 = matched the all-time leaderat this position. Built only from visible encyclopedia data β career production vs. the all-time leader, plus efficiency (EPA) and comparable-player confidence β so it's a transparent context score, not a subjective rating. Tiers: Elite β₯ 85 Β· Strong β₯ 65 Β· Solid β₯ 45 Β· Depth < 45. Comparable-player confidence: 90%.
Per-Snap Impact
Edge Rushers Β· proprietary Β· 2012+65
Above average
SIS
Disruption/1006.317Snap share50%Def snaps1,591ConsistentCV 0.09
Production per snap β the box score normalized by opportunity. SIS is z-scored within edge rushers, shrinkage-regularized so small samples don't spike, over the NFL snap-count era (2012+).
Career Aging Trajectory
vs. position group average Β· KV-H basisAmber = this player (normalized to own peak). Indigo = average edge rushers aging curve. Group peak age: 25. Source: StatVault KV-H era (1999+).
College stats are not imported for this profile yet.
StatVault has the verified college attribution (Iowa State), but no parsed college box-score table is present in this profile artifact. The section stays here so every profile has a consistent college-stats landing point without fabricating unavailable rows.
Reference Graph
Career teammates and draft class, derived from year-by-year rosters β every name is linked.
Top Teammates
Thomas HennessyLS3yQuinnen WilliamsDT3yQuincy WilliamsLB3yAllen LazardWR3yJamien SherwoodLB3ySauce GardnerCB3yMicheal ClemonsDE3yGarrett WilsonWR3yJeremy RuckertTE3yBreece HallRB3yTony AdamsSAF3yJoe TippmannC3yJermaine Johnson IIDE3yMax MitchellOT3yXavier Newman-JohnsonG3yMarcelino McCrary-BallLB3yThomas MorsteadP2yAaron RodgersQB2yGreg ZuerleinK2ySolomon ThomasDE2yTyler ConklinTE2yD.J. ReedCB2yIsaiah OliverFS2yTyrod TaylorQB2y
2023 Draft ClassΒ· this player went #15
#7Tyree WilsonDE#8Bijan RobinsonRB#9Jalen CarterDT#10Darnell WrightOT#11Peter SkoronskiOT#12Jahmyr GibbsRB#13Lukas Van NessLB#14Broderick JonesOT#16Emmanuel ForbesCB#17Christian GonzalezCB#18Jack CampbellLB#19Calijah KanceyDT#20Jaxon Smith-NjigbaWR#21Quentin JohnstonWR#22Zay FlowersWR#23Jordan AddisonWR
Franchise Succession
the room, before and afterWill inherited the New York Jets DL room from Micheal Clemons (2022β2025), and holds it as the most recent the corpus records.
Similar Players
Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0β100%).
Movementderived from season history
- 2025final season
Last recorded season with NYJ
- 2023draft
Drafted by NYJ β Round 1, Pick 15
Athletic & Unique Profile
verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts6'4" / 245 lb
Frame
Injury History
From nflverse weekly injury reports Β· coverage begins 2009.
| Season | Team | Games Out | Designations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | NYJ | 0 | W8QuestionableΒ· BackW10QuestionableΒ· AnkleW11QuestionableΒ· AnkleW15QuestionableΒ· Knee |
Knox
StatVault's proprietary player intelligence, informed by full career data. How Knox works β
Historical Knox Β· KV-H
Era-normalized career quality β z-scored against 3-season peers. See all β
66
peak 76
Season Report CardsΒ· KV-H era-normalized per season
C+2023
A2024
A2025
Availability
Career durability β games played vs. scheduled, across 3 seasons.
92%
20232025
Durability IQ
Composite score across availability, IR frequency, and injury severity.
Era Translator
Sacks translated to the 2025NFL β each season's standing among its own-era peers, projected onto 2025's scoring environment. Modern-era (1999+) coverage.
| Season | Actual Sacks | Sacks/G | β 2025 Sacks | β 2025 /G |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 3 | 0.3 | 5+2 | 0.3 |
| 2024 | 10.5 | 0.7 | 11+0.5 | 0.7 |
| 2025 | 8 | 0.7 | 11+3 | 0.7 |
Data: nflverse:players, nflverse:player_stats_def, nflverse:snap_counts, nflverse:draft_picks, nflverse:injuries Β· multi-source verified via the StatVault Oracle Β· updated 6/18/2026
Career Value Β· VORP
74 career value over replacement β #1553 all-time of 4,642. 24.7/season above a replacement-level EDGE.
Draft OutcomeValue β
Pick #15 (Rd 1) Β· NYJ Β· 2023 Β· +8.5 vs expected KV-H
66actual
57.5 expected Β· Ξ+8.5
Fan Rating
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