THREE WINNERS
Christian Hackenberg Wait a second. How can a player who didn’t take a single snap in his rookie season be the biggest winner of the week? Well, the Jets didn’t draft a quarterback, which means that Hackenberg should finally get his opportunity to prove that he can be the answer to the Jets’ most maddening problem.
Sure, Todd Bowles recently said that last year’s second-round pick would play in 2017, but offseason statements always come with strings attached. Things change quickly in free agency and the draft.
Veteran Josh McCown will almost certainly be the Week 1 starter, but Hackenberg will be in line to come in from the bullpen at some point (sooner than you think).
Bryce Petty Hold on. Didn’t Petty get leapfrogged by a player with no career snaps on his re- sume? Don’t the Jets view his ceiling as NFL backup? So, how does he come out a winner?
Well, it’s simple. If the Jets had drafted a quarterback in one of the first four rounds, Petty would have been a goner. The Jets weren’t going to carry four quarterbacks for a second consecutive season. Asking new quarterbacks coach Jeremy Bates to work with three projects would have been a bit much.
It might have been unfair, but Petty would have been the odd man out.
Now, he’ll have a chance to compete with McCown and Hackenberg. Make no mistake: The organization will give Hackenberg a full evaluation this season. Petty’s three-game audition in 2016 still might be the only one he gets, but at least he’ll have a chance to show the new offensive staff this spring and summer that he shouldn’t be forgotten.
Todd Bowles For all we know, Bowles was dancing around his living room in his underwear to Bob Seger after landing two safeties in the first two rounds. The Jets hope that Jamal Adams and Marcus Maye will be a dynamic duo for the next decade. Bowles must be overjoyed that he doesn’t have to watch his secondary get torched every week again.
Bowles could have used a cornerback in one of the premium rounds — the Jets took a pair in the sixth — but he’s not going to complain after adding two cornerstone pieces to his maligned secondary.