Scouting Report for Will McDonald IV
Strengths: Explosive front-seven defender with tremendous upside. Athletic and quickly changes direction. Moves around the field with ease and covers large amounts of area. Stays with assignments, plays with balance, and is rarely off his feet.
Tremendous edge rusher who shows speed up the field and ability in backside pursuit. Plays with excellent lean, quickly gets his hands up, and effectively uses them to protect himself. Often comes out of a three-point stance and plays with great leverage and body control. Stays with assignments and works hard.
Areas of Improvement: Lacks bulk & is easily disrupted from his angle of attack by the initial block. Out-positioned by opponents. Never really developed at Iowa State. May be unable to handle complex defensive schemes.
Conclusion: McDonald is an outstanding athlete who caused a lot of disruption over the past three seasons for the Cyclones’ defense. He possesses the size and explosion to be used as an edge rusher in a 3-4 alignment, but, at the same time, McDonald has enough athleticism to play in space. McDonald comes with great upside, but he’ll need proper coaching and development to fully complete his game.
Analysis: It’s worth wondering if McDonald has much room to add to his frame. At 24 years old, he’ll be one of the older rookies on the circuit. But early on, McDonald can factor into an EDGE rotation as a valuable pass-rushing catalyst. With more refinement and weight room work, he could grow to become a quality starter, with a particular affinity for attacking the quarterback.
Strengths: Explosive front-seven defender with tremendous upside. Athletic and quickly changes direction. Moves around the field with ease and covers large amounts of area. Stays with assignments, plays with balance, and is rarely off his feet.
Tremendous edge rusher who shows speed up the field and ability in backside pursuit. Plays with excellent lean, quickly gets his hands up, and effectively uses them to protect himself. Often comes out of a three-point stance and plays with great leverage and body control. Stays with assignments and works hard.
Areas of Improvement: Lacks bulk & is easily disrupted from his angle of attack by the initial block. Out-positioned by opponents. Never really developed at Iowa State. May be unable to handle complex defensive schemes.
Conclusion: McDonald is an outstanding athlete who caused a lot of disruption over the past three seasons for the Cyclones’ defense. He possesses the size and explosion to be used as an edge rusher in a 3-4 alignment, but, at the same time, McDonald has enough athleticism to play in space. McDonald comes with great upside, but he’ll need proper coaching and development to fully complete his game.
Analysis: It’s worth wondering if McDonald has much room to add to his frame. At 24 years old, he’ll be one of the older rookies on the circuit. But early on, McDonald can factor into an EDGE rotation as a valuable pass-rushing catalyst. With more refinement and weight room work, he could grow to become a quality starter, with a particular affinity for attacking the quarterback.
