New York pass-rushers battling it out to be NFL's sack leaders

Before his leg injury, Aidan Hutchinson was on track to be the NFL’s sack leader in 2024, as well as the Defensive Player of the Year. With Hutchinson’s unfortunate departure from the sack leader race, two young stars from New York are now at the forefront of the battle. 

It’s unlikely that either of these two will overtake T.J. Watt, Myles Garrett or Micah Parsons for the aforementioned Defensive Player of the Year title, but they deserve recognition for the success they’ve found thus far.

Both Dexter Lawrence of the Giants and Will McDonald IV of the Jets currently have seven sacks through six games, just a half-sack behind the injured Hutchinson. Both of their teams sit at 2-4, but these pass-rushers have played a pivotal role in the victories their teams have claimed.

Lawrence and McDonald play in noticeably different ways but have both consistently found their way to opposing quarterbacks through the early portion of the season. Despite the lack of success, these defensive linemen who call MetLife Stadium home have found, they’re both on track for career years.

Dexter Lawrence

Selected out of Clemson with the 17th overall pick in 2019, Lawrence, 26, has been a force throughout the majority of his NFL career. This is Lawrence’s sixth season, and his stellar performance seems to have him on track for a third consecutive Pro Bowl appearance.

Standing at 6-foot-4, 340 pounds, Lawrence uses his size and strength to hammer through the offensive line. Even if he doesn’t directly come in contact with the quarterback, he’s typically able to collapse the pocket to apply pressure.

Lawrence’s success hasn’t gone unnoticed, but the improvement thus far this season has for many. He had 21 career sacks entering this season, and just 4.5 in his Pro Bowl 2023 season. 

The most sacks Lawrence has ever recorded in a single season is 7.5, a total he reached in 2022. Now he sits just a half-sack short of that mark, having only played six games thus far. It seems inevitable that he’ll not only set a new career high but do so by a wide margin.

The Giants may not have many wins to their name, but Lawrence’s performance was crucial in their two triumphs. He recorded five sacks between those games, including a three-sack performance in an upset over the Seahawks in Week 5.

Lawrence seems destined for another Pro Bowl appearance, as well as a third-straight selection to an All-Pro team. If he keeps up his current pace, he might even throw his name in the ring for the NFL’s top defensive player.

Will McDonald IV

Despite being only one year younger than Lawrence, at 25, McDonald is in just his second season in the NFL, with "Monday Night Football" against the Bills having marked the 21st game of his career. McDonald was selected by the Jets with the 15th pick of the 2023 NFL Draft, which many viewed as a reach at the time.

Despite his outstanding collegiate career at Iowa State, it was believed that his age would cause him to slide in the draft, with teams favoring prospects with better longevity. The Jets were willing to look beyond this in favor of his immense talent and are already being rewarded for it.

Similar to Lawrence, McDonald stands at 6-foot-4 but boasts a leaner build at 236 pounds. This means his pursuit of the quarterback is centered around speed and finesse, as opposed to bulldozing the lineman in front of him.

McDonald recorded just three sacks in his first NFL season last year. He immediately matched this mark in 2024 with a three-sack effort in the Jets' Week 2 victory over the Tennessee Titans. He’s picked up sacks in three of the four games since, amassing his total of seven thus far.

Having seemingly already developed into a destructive pass-rusher in just his second year, McDonald should eliminate many of the concerns about his value as a first-rounder. He’s quickly proving his worth and could be the NFL’s sack leader in just his second season.

Lawrence and McDonald have taken very different paths to this point in their careers but have become pillars of defensive football in the Big Apple this year. While their teams aim to turn things around, they’ll look to cement their place in history by topping the sacks chart.