At this time last season, entering the Jets’ seventh game, Will McDonald IV was already in the middle of a breakout year.

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He had already collected his seventh sack. Gang Green’s edge rusher reality — Jermaine Johnson’s season-ending Achilles injury, Haason Reddick’s season debut not occurring until Week 8 — allowed McDonald, a first-round pick in 2023, to flourish with the expanded role.

He talked about wanting to break sacks records — the Jets and Mark Gastineau (22), the NFL and Michael Strahan (22.5) — to The Post’s Steve Serby in November, and at that point, those were within reach with his pace.

But after collecting a pair of

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