Todd Bowles: Christian Hackenberg 'has time to grow' after losing job to McCown
Bowles gets credit for his glass-half-full outlook on the Jets' terrible quarterback situation
The Jets named 38-year-old journeyman Josh McCown their Week 1 starting quarterback Monday over Christian Hackenberg, the embattled 2016 second-round pick whose struggles have been well documented, including a forgettable performance over the weekend that included two pick-sixes.
It's a @TheHumble_21 Pick-6!
— NFL (@NFL) August 26, 2017
Landon Collins jumps the route for the @Giants TD! #NYGvsNYJpic.twitter.com/H98Wkctn2e
The @Giants defense comes up BIG again.
— NFL (@NFL) August 27, 2017
Their second Pick-6 of the night. 👏 #NYJvsNYGpic.twitter.com/hYK374zWal
Predictably, Jets coach Todd Bowles explained that McCown gives the Jets the best chance to win now, which is troubling for many reasons, perhaps most notably this one:
Josh McCown is 2-20 as a starter since 2014. His .091 winning percentage in that span is lowest in the NFL (min. 20 starts) pic.twitter.com/IKw5k5q3dh
— NFL Research (@NFLResearch) August 28, 2017
But going with McCown will afford Hackenberg the chance to continue his learning-by-watching odyssey from the sidelines.
"I would say that he's learning the offense and he didn't have enough playing time yet," Bowles said, via comments distributed by the team. "We got him some significant playing time. It has nothing to do with his development. He's 22-years old, he has time to grow and he'll grow from it."
Of course, this wouldn't be much of a story had the Jets not taken Hackenberg in the second round. No one seems concerned that 2015 fourth-rounder Bryce Petty hasn't won the job outright because, well, he's a fourth-rounder. And the expectations that come along with draft status brings us to this New York Daily News story from Manish Mehta, who writes that Jets general manager Mike Maccagnan overdrafted Hackenberg amid worries that another team might move up to get the quarterback.
It started when the Texans leap-frogged the Jets in Round 2, to pick No. 50. Mehta writes that "the Jets brain trust was convinced that [Texans coach] Bill O'Brien was poised to select former pupil Christian Hackenberg."
O'Brien coached Hackenberg at Penn State. Instead, the Texans took Notre Dame center Nick Martin.
"When the Texans traded up …" one Jets insider told Mehta. "I don't want to say it spooked [Maccagnan], but it made him want to go ahead and take Hackenberg."
So the Jets drafted Hackenberg, even though he likely would have been available in Rounds 3, 4 and possibly beyond.
If you're looking for a silver lining, there's this: The Jets appear to be the league's worst team, which means they could be in position to take the quarterback of their choosing in the 2018 NFL Draft, which is expected to have the deepest quarterback class in recent memory.
















