Christian Hackenberg became the first quarterback since Brian Brohm in 2008 drafted in the first or second round who didn’t throw a pass in his rookie season.
The Jets took Hackenberg with the 51st pick, but didn’t deem him ready to play in their meaningless regular-season finale.
According to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News, the reviews on Hackenberg haven’t been good.
He’s been told that Hackenberg “will never make it.” A member of the Jets’ coaching staff told ESPN via Mehta that Hackenberg couldn’t hit the ocean with his passes.
Part of the problem, according to Mehta, is that offensive coordinator Chan Gailey knew 2016 would be his last year and he also believed that Hackenberg would need a lot more than a year to develop into a serviceable NFL quarterback.
Considering he didn’t play at all in 2016, maybe there’s not much to wipe from the slate and Hackenberg can adjust quickly to a new system.
History doesn’t bode well for Hackenberg, however. Brohm lasted only two years in the NFL, played in the CFL, and at age 31 just joined the coaching staff at Purdue.
Two other quarterbacks drafted in the first two rounds since then were barely used as rookies. Tim Tebow threw 82 passes in his rookie season and Colin Kaepernick threw five in his. Both had brief success before their careers went south.
The Jets have had their fill of one-year wonders at quarterback. At some point, they’re going to have to let Hackenberg play.
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