Father challenges son to grab ring of his own
Jets steal stud son of former Giant
MIKE Maccagnan’s Jets legacy ultimately will rest on whether he will be able to find his franchise quarterback, probably in the 2018 NFL Draft, unless Christian Hackenberg suddenly morphs into Broadway Christian against all odds.
But in the meantime, on this night, Maccagnan can take a bow.
On a night when the Bears (Mitchell Trubisky), Chiefs (Patrick Mahomes) and Texans (Deshaun Watson) felt they could not wait on the bountiful 2018 quarterback class and traded up for the so-called project quarterbacks in the 2017 class, Maccagnan decided to wait, and for the second time in three drafts (Leonard Williams, 2015) had the Best Player Available fall right in his lap.
A player who by the sheer force of his character and personality helps change the culture in the Jets locker room.
The Jets too often were tantamount to the Manson family in shoulder pads and helmets.
The Adams family gives them a much better chance.
Adams will be a breath of fresh air inside a building that needs to be sanitized and vaporized with high-class, high-character men who love the game and are not scared by New York.
Adams does not have the rare ball-hawking skills of a Malik Hooker, but he’s the total package, the Jets’ version of Landon Collins.
And, if you listen to his father, his son plays like the Honey Badger and has Lawrence Taylor’s mentality.
“The coach [Todd Bowles] was coaching Tyrann Mathieu with the Cardinals, and he saw the way that he played, and I know that he knows the way that my son plays,” George Adams told The Post by phone from Philadelphia.
Asked if he can be another Honey Badger in New York, the proud father said: “Oh absolutely. He can cover, he can blitz, he can tackle, he can play wherever you want him to play.”
Jamal Adams and New York are a match made in heaven. George Adams was a running back and the Giants’ first-round draft pick in 1985.
“He loves the lights. … He likes the brightness of ’ em. He likes to shine,” George Adams said.
The father addressed the bet he made with his son in high school and lost Thursday night. George Adams was the 19th pick. He has been trying to motivate his son at every level. His son was the sixth pick.
“I said, ‘I’ll bet you $100,000 that you don’t go higher than me in the draft,’ ” George Adams said.
You told him that when exactly? “I told him that when he was in high school,” he said.
And what was his son’s reaction when he did go higher?
“He hasn’t said anything to me about it — he knows that I’m not gonna pay him. He knows that.”
George Adams challenged Jamal again after the Jets struck by telling him that he doesn’t have a Super Bowl ring.
“When he mouthed off to me and said, ‘Oh, I went higher than you.’ So I told him that, ‘You gotta get a Super Bowl ring now.’”
Jamal’s reaction? “He just shook his head: ‘OK.’ I like to challenge him. One thing about my son — if you get him one time, you’re not gonna get him again,” George Adams said.
Donald Carson is one of the LSU team physicians. He is the son of Hall of Famer Harry Carson, who played with Jamal Adams’ father.
“One of my good friends is a diehard Jet fan and I told him, ‘I’ve become a smidge of a Jets fan now because this is a good pick for you guys,’ ” the young Carson said.
The father always told him about LT and Carson.
“When Lawrence Taylor got on the football field, he wanted to win, and he had to do what it takes to win,” George Adams said, “and that’s what my son’s gonna do.”