When word of Will McDonald’s sack numbers began circulating, linebacker Sam Eguavoen shouted to his teammates in a happy Jets locker room: “Those are Haason numbers!”
Indeed, McDonald’s leap has made it easier for Gang Green to forget about Haason Reddick’s indefinite contract holdout — or Jermaine Johnson tearing his Achilles.
In Thursday night’s 24-3 trouncing of the Patriots, McDonald added two more sacks, giving him five over the past two games, both victories.
“His Year 1 to Year 2 jump is crazy,” Eguavoen told The Post. “And you could see in training camp, working out from 8 [a.m.] to 6 [p.m], Will is the first one here, last to leave.
“I don’t know what he was doing out there. But he was just constantly working on his craft. You could tell from the film room to the field, he’s a completely different person.”
McDonald, the 15th overall pick in 2023, mostly struggled in lesser opportunities as a rookie, collecting three sacks on the season.
But now he’s in the spotlight with Reddick nowhere in sight and pass rusher Johnson out for the season.
McDonald’s five sacks are currently second in the NFL as most of the teams still have yet to play a third game.
“Will’s still been a dawg. It’s just the little things [he’s doing better],” said Eguavoen, a backup linebacker who recorded one tackle Thursday. “Like not being sharper center-edge. And not flying up the field behind the quarterback. He’s always had crazy talent. It’s just his mindset has changed. Everybody has to think in their mind, ‘I’m him. I’m that dawg.’ He found a way to bring that dawg out of him this year.”
Added McDonald: “I’m not impressed yet. I got to finish the season for me to be impressed with what I did. And like I said, it doesn’t really matter unless we get to the championship game and win that ring.
“Just got to keep pushing. Keep winning our one-on-ones. Give the ball to the offense. Keep going.”
Jets coach Robert Saleh teased that McDonald is just getting started.
“You guys have to be patient,” he said. “He’s coming.”
The Patriots (1-2) are bereft of talent on offense and were stuffed by the Jets, who were terrible defensively in Week 1 against the 49ers and allowed just 139 yards Thursday.
It was most impressive that the Patriots, with their offense geared toward running, managed just 78 yards on the ground.
“It’s a mindset. It’s mano a mano. It’s, ‘I got to win that one-on-one. I got to dominate it,’ ” Eguavoen said. “You want to run the ball — there’s not too much scheme in that. Running the ball is a man’s game. Whose family is tougher? Is my family going to eat or is your family going to eat? It’s pretty simple. That’s the way I like football. There is no scheme or ‘I got you.’
“It’s whose family is tougher.”