Jets General Manager Mike Maccagnan made quarterback Christian Hackenberg a second-round pick during the 2016 draft, which might lead some to assume that he’d like to see Hackenberg play in a game at some point.
On Tuesday, though, Maccagnan said he was just fine with coach Todd Bowles’ decision not to get Hackenberg into a regular season game in either of his first two seasons. Hackenberg is the third quarterback since the merger to get drafted in the first two rounds and not play in his first two seasons.
Despite that, Maccagnan said that he thinks Hackenberg has improved over his first two years in the NFL and spoke about him as if he’s part of the team’s plans for the future.
“Players develop at different paces,” Maccagnan said, via the New York Daily News. “Christian is only 22 years old. I don’t think his final chapter has been written yet.”
It’s hard to write a final chapter when you refuse to write the first one, but it’s hard not to draw some conclusions about what one might put on paper about a player who sat behind Bryce Petty for the final weeks of a 5-11 season.