The key to finding good talent is to have solid scouting overseen by a very good talent evaluator and I believe that Mac is such a talent evaluator. Whatever you want to say about Hackenberg, the Jets front office spent a lot of time with him and reviewing him in every conceivable way. Does that mean he'll be a franchise QB or otherwise successful? No, it doesn't. Top QB picks in the draft often bust. If there's a 20% chance that Hack could be a franchise QB (or even just a good QB) then that's a good pick. What separates good QBs from great QBs is the pre-snap reads that the QB makes. Peyton Manning and Tom Brady often know exactly where they're throwing the ball before the snap because of their pre-snap reads. The part of Hackenberg's game that was solid in college was that he was very good at pre-snap reads and he was running an NFL offense and making NFL calls. That's extremely rare in a college QB and is a strong indicator that he has the brains to be a good NFL QB. Plenty of guys with amazing arms flame out because they don't have the mental ability to run an NFL offense, including pre-snap reads. Hack came out of college with the ability to do that. The part of his game that was a problem was his accuracy. Are those mechanical problems that can just be fixed? If they are, then he could very well become a franchise QB. If they are not then he'll likely be a bust. Mac and the coaching staff believe they can fix his mechanics. If they're successful in doing so, he will be a very good QB for us. Easily worth a 2nd round pick.
i should have explained it a little better with more detailed to say that I dont think another GM would have gotten a WR like Marshall for a 5th round pick, - wouldnt have gotten a QB like Fitz was last year for the 6th round pick & wouldnt have landed Clady for a 5th rounder. As clear as it is that you are not a Maccagnan supporter, in addition to being a Fitz hater, - even you must admit that landing those 3 by trading 2 5ths and a 6th round draft pick was pretty shrewd. And if John Idzik were still here (despite being extremely hard to believe), - i still think that would be the best that he could field. Maccagnan did get NFL Executive of the Year from the Pro Football Writers Association in his rookie season.
He was going up against COLLEGE defenses where teams only had a few NFL quality players on that side of the ball. Pre-snap reads going against college D is like saying a kid learning to reading cat in the hat can translate ancient hyroglifics. Hack might have been un-drafted. No one had him remotely where the Jets picked him. They could have taken an impact player and STILL grabbed Hack later in the draft. That's not a worthy pick, it's a shitty job by Mac.
most draft previews mags/sites I read around the time of the draft had Hackenburg listed as a 2nd or 3rd round prospect
Goes to show what they know...what did he have 60M to spend when he took the job? Where are we now and what did he get with that money and we are already over the cap for next year..like I said, shows what they know.
i can't debate the point with you, Don. And it has nothing to do with the merits of my viewpoint. I just can't debate with you..........
It is mind-boggling to me that one-in-five of us blame the GM for this situation as much as anyone else. You would think he signed Fitzpatrick for five years!
Now I'd love to see Mac recoup some of those picks with an eye towards a full rebuild. 2016 is cooked, and our 2017 SuperBowl hopes will be a long shot at best. I'm sure a RB needy team in playoff contention (GB, NYG) could use a safety valve like Forte in exchange for a 4th or 5th rounder. The window for guys like Forte & Marshall will close before the Jets' window opens.
