The New York Jets have had a lot of draft busts at the quarterback position over the past 20 years.
Zach Wilson was most recently a bad pick who is now with the Broncos. Sam Darnold, Geno Smith and Mark Sanchez all flamed out before their rookie contract ended. These mistakes are likely why the Jets ended up trading for four-time MVP Aaron Rodgers in 2023 as a last-ditch effort to end the team's decade-plus-long playoff drought.
While Wilson, Darnold, Smith and Sanchez didn't pan out, all four at least saw extended action under center during the regular season. That wasn't the case for Christian Hackenberg, who the Jets took in the second round of the 2016 draft out of Penn State.
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Despite being taken with the No. 51 pick in 2016, Hackenberg never saw the field during the regular season before the Jets traded him to the Raiders before the 2018 season. Hackenberg didn't make the Raiders' roster and was also eventually cut and signed by the Eagles and Bengals that offseason before he joined the Alliance of American Football at the end of 2018.
Former Jets QB admits 'New York was probably the last place I should’ve gone'
Hackenberg hasn't spoken much about his time in New York since, but he recently talked about his NFL experience with The Ross Tucker Football Podcast. Hackenberg admitted that he had his own issues that he didn't try to resolve early in his career, but that being drafted into the New York market didn't help his journey, either.
“New York was probably the last place I should’ve gone," Hackenberg said, "in terms of the market, the expectations, the way it was. My rookie year we ended up keeping four quarterbacks so there just wasn't a lot of opportunity for me to develop and grow. ... It was just one of those things where I think just the timing and where I ended up just wasn't in the cards for me at that position."
“New York was probably the last place I should’ve gone…”@CHackenberg1 discusses his time with the Jets and some of the reasons thing didn’t work out: pic.twitter.com/uSYFSaIClI
— Ross Tucker Podcast (@RossTuckerPod) June 5, 2024
The bright lights of the Big Apple weren't the only reason for Hackenberg's ultimate demise with the Jets.
As he mentioned, New York carried four quarterbacks on the roster that year: Ryan Fitzpatrick, Geno Smith, Bryce Petty and Hackenberg. Fitzpatrick was the starter after his breakout performance the year before, Smith remained a quality backup with starter potential and Petty had been a fourth-round pick in 2015. That didn't leave much room for Hackenberg to even see practice reps.
While the Hackenberg pick appeared odd at the time, it actually had a little bit of merit. Fitzpatrick and the Jets were in a contract standoff at the time and no one knew if he would return to New York. The Jets eventually signed Fitzpatrick to a new deal, but not until months after the draft. Smith has a big question mark as well after he lost his starting job to Fitzpatrick after a Jets teammate broke Smith's jaw. Petty, meanwhile, was a fourth-round pick with almost no experience. Why not take another quarterback?
That entire Jets season was a mess, which also didn't help Hackenberg's development as a rookie. At least he can be honest about his experiences now.
