David Purdy/Getty Images Defensive end Will McDonald IV of the Iowa State Cyclones sacks quarterback Will McElvain of the Northern Iowa Panthers on September 4, 2021.
Edge rusher may not be among the top 3 needs of the Pittsburgh Steelers heading into the 2023 draft, but the organization would no doubt like to improve the depth behind T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith. Consider Iowa State’s Will McDonald IV, a somewhat undersized edge-rusher (6-foot-3 and 241 pounds) who excels at getting after the quarterback.
“(A team) like the Steelers with a long track record of developing outside linebackers would be an ideal landing spot,” says Alex Ballentine of Bleacher Report, who also sees McDonald as a good fit for the Los Angeles Rams and Tennessee Titans.
“McDonald has an impressive first step and the speed to bend the edge on the outside. He isn’t a pure speed rusher, though. His inside spin move is a legitimate counter that can be deadly when paired with his pure athleticism,” writes Ballentine, before noting that McDonald also flashed “adequate ability to drop into coverage” during Senior Bowl practices.
That dovetails with what other observers have said about McDonald, including Trevor Sikkema of Pro Football Focus, who characterizes him as “a lighter edge rusher whose strength is his speed, which he showed throughout the week during one-on-ones and team drills.”
Building on that, here’s what John Hendrix of SI.com’s Fan Nation had to say about McDonald’s performance at the Senior Bowl.
“His work in one-on-one reps was hard not to notice. The edge rusher was dominant all week, showing off some real athleticism and skills in the process. He also dropped in coverage and made a nice play breaking up a pass intended for Alabama’s Cameron Latu,” offered Hendrix.
The question is where he fits best at the NFL level.
“McDonald primarily lined up outside or on the tackle at Iowa State in their three-down linemen alignments. That’s going to change in the league. The team that drafts him is going to have to get creative with how they deploy him,” notes Ballentine.
Draft Projections for Will McDonald IV
As to how long Will McDonald IV will remain on the board during the draft, NFLDraftBuzz.com projects him as a mid-2nd rounder. Meanwhile, Pro Football Network sees him as a “potential top 100 pick.” The Draft Network values him as a 4th-round pick, applauding his high motor and “upside as a pass rusher,” but questioning his strength at the point of attack and effectiveness defending the run.
Regardless, McDonald was consistently productive at Iowa State. He played in 54 career games for the Cyclones and recorded 123 tackles (79 solo), including 42 tackles for loss and 34 sacks, plus 10 forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and eight passes defensed.
Pittsburgh’s Lack of Depth at Outside Linebacker
As for the Steelers’ situation at edge rusher, a lot depends on whether the team believes it can extend Alex Highsmith beyond the 2023 season. If yes, outside linebacker figures to be somewhat less of a priority in this draft.
That said, the Steelers need to add bodies behind Watt and Highsmith.
Last month, Pittsburgh signed Quincy Roche to a reserve/futures contract for 2023. Roche was a 6th-round pick of the Steelers in 2021, but Pittsburgh lost him to a waiver claim by the New York Giants on Sept. 1, 2021. Roche appeared in 17 games (with 3 starts) for the Giants over the past two seasons, recording 40 tackles, including five tackles for loss, five quarterback hits and 2.5 sacks, as per Pro Football Reference.
Also signed to a reserve/futures contract was former Chargers 6th-round pick, Emeke Egbule, who joined Pittsburgh’s practice squad late last season. Egbule has 32 games of NFL experience but has played almost exclusively on special teams.
Meanwhile, Malik Reed is a pending unrestricted free agents while Jamir Jones is an exclusive rights free agent.