Christian Hackenberg, a former second round pick, regrets being drafted by the Jets: “New York was probably the last place I should’ve gone”

Hackenberg a second round draft pick never played for the Jets despite being on the roster for two years.

Christian Hackenberg, a former second round pick, regrets being drafted by the Jets: “New York was probably the last place I should’ve gone”

Former New York Jets quarterback Christian Hackenberg (Image via IMAGO)

The New York Jets have long been considered to be a graveyard of quarterbacks and Christian Hackenberg’s testimony might just have proven that theory. Since 2000, the Jets drafted seven quarterbacks and Hackenberg was one of them.

Coincidentally, the first quarterback on the list, Chad Pennington was perhaps the pickup of the bunch. The 6 others were Mark Sanchez, Geno Smith, Christian Hackenberg, Sam Darnold, and Zach Wilson.

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Not just Wilson, the man brought in to mentor him ended up taking just a handful of snaps. The Jets signed the four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers to finally reach the playoffs for the first time since 2010, but on the first day of the season, he ended up with a torn Achilles.

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Despite being projected as the 5th best quarterback to enter the 2016 draft, it was surprising that the Jets were the ones who took Hackenberg. They drafted him even though they already had Smith and Ryan Fitzpatrick who had become the first Jets quarterback to throw 30 touchdowns in a season. Hackenberg revealed the situation and place weren’t right for him at all while appearing on the Ross Tucker Podcast.

New York [Jets] was probably the last place I should’ve gone, in terms of the market, the expectations. [In my rookie year] we ended up keeping four quarterbacks [Smith, Fitzpatrick, and Bryce Petty]. So, there was just not a lot of opportunity [for me].
Christian Hackenberg said

Like all the rookies Christian Hackenberg required guidance which the Jets failed to provide

Hackenberg was a standout quarterback in college football for Penn State. In three seasons with the Lions, he threw for over 8000 yards and scored 48 touchdowns but also was intercepted 31 times.

Christian Hackenberg, a former second round pick, regrets being drafted by the Jets: "New York was probably the last place I should’ve gone"
Christian Hackenberg (Image via IMAGO)

He was a serviceable quarterback but rough around the ages and required guidance from the coaches. However, Hackenberg revealed he barely ever received any attention and he wasn’t forward enough to ask for it himself.

When I look at it introspectively, I was young, [I] needed a lot of help, and I needed a lot of [direction and] guidance, and I never sought that out. That’s where my shortcoming was.
Christian Hackenberg added

It was ultimately too late for the now 29-year-old. Hackenberg did not feature for the Jets or in the NFL for that matter. He had brief spells with the Oakland Raiders, the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Cincinnati Bengals but never broke into the main roster.

Later Alliance of American Football League side Memphis Express signed him for their starting quarterback role in 2019. However, he was quickly benched after a few games.

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