FSU football: Camren McDonald on Mackey Watch List. Breakout season?

FSU football senior tight end Camren McDonald made the Mackey Watch List going into his final season, looking for a breakout year.

The west coast product has produced nearly identical numbers in the past two seasons, averaging about 23 receptions, 250 yards, and two touchdowns.

McDonald has the potential to break out with a little more consistency. He had three games in 2021 where he didn’t have one reception and another where he had one reception for -2 yards.

That’s one-third of the season, so imagine what his stats would look like if he caught two passes in those games?

That would put him over 30 receptions, over 400 receiving yards, and maybe an additional touchdown. I know it sounds crazy, but that would put him in the neighborhood of Nick O’Leary’s production in the 2013 national championship season.

The lack of production isn’t solely on McDonald. The coaching staff played musical chairs with the quarterbacks in the early part of the year, and the offensive line wore down with injuries towards the latter part.

Jordan Wilson emerged as an option, which took balls away from McDonald. However, most of these issues are no more in 2022.

Jordan Travis is the unquestioned starter at QB. FSU’s offensive line should be the best it’s been in over five years, and McDonald is the lone proven tight end on the roster. A breakout season for McDonald would be massive for an offense looking to consistently sustain drives.

It’s an issue that has haunted the Noles for the better part of five years, and I hope McDonald focuses on becoming a reliable option on third downs to move the chains.

FSU converted third downs 34 percent of the time last season, and improving that number to around 40 percent would be a huge difference-maker for this offense. Congrat to Camren McDonald and leave it all on the line in your final season!