With The First Pick
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High Hopes for Christian Hackenberg

By Carl Cockerham

Nov 28, 2015; East Lansing, MI, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Christian Hackenberg (14) gestures to the Michigan State Spartans defense during the second half of a game at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 28, 2015; East Lansing, MI, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Christian Hackenberg (14) gestures to the Michigan State Spartans defense during the second half of a game at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports /
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There is still a big-time gap between the New York Jets and 2015 starting quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. So it is not known whether or not the Jets will ultimately re-sign the veteran. Going into the draft, Geno Smith and Bryce Petty were next in line to be the guy.

So in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft, the team picked Christian Hackenberg. The Jets have a chance in 2016 but not so much with Smith or Petty at quarterback. So it appears now that if nothing can be worked out with Fitzpatrick, all the Jets’ hopes could go into Hackenberg.

Offensive coordinator Chan Gailey seems to think highly of Hackenberg, telling the New York Post,  “I think his intelligence, his decision-making. When he played in a pro-style offense as a freshman, he handled that extremely well. There were a lot of positives.”

Director of Player Personnel Brian Heimerdinger is definitely a big fan of Hackenberg’s future. And he’s the latest member of the organization to put in his two cents on Hackenberg. Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News caught Heimerdinger’s conversation with WGFX-FM in Nashville.

And in it, Heimerdinger said, “I think we have high hopes for Hack. He had a tough time in college, but he’s an unbelievable kid. He’s real smart. I’ve really enjoyed him so far since he’s been in the building. We’ll see how he progresses over the next couple of years.”

Whether it be now or in the future, the Jets have a high hopes for Hackenberg!

And they have good reason!

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