The New York Jets made a surprising move when they selected Christian Hackenberg in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft, making him the first quarterback taken outside of the first round. He is likely going to compete for the starting job, but it looks like he still has a long way to go before he can claim the spot.
ESPN’s Rich Cimini reported that the former Penn State quarterback has struggled throughout the Jets’ OTAs over the last few weeks saying that “his passes are fluttering” and “his footwork is robotic.”
However, head coach Todd Bowles seems to blame that on him being a rookie and still needing to adjust.
“Right now I expect him to look sloppy because he’s seeing a whole boat load of defenses that are coming at him daily, and there’s going to be a growth period,” Bowles said.
The second-year head coach seemed to imply that Hackenberg would be much more comfortable in his position by training camp. He will have to be especially if the team is going to rely on him being the starter going into the season.
Christian Hackenberg might be called on to open the season as the starter if Ryan Fitzpatrick’s contract issues don’t get settled and Geno Smith doesn’t perform up to snuff.
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*Featured Photo (above) credit to USA TODAY Sports
