Christian

Hackenberg

Hack made it 21 days in the Bay Area. With his release, the Jets miss out on their conditional seventh-round pick. Hackenberg was severely over-drafted in 2016, creating unfair expectations in New York. The reality is, he’s not an NFL quarterback. Although he’s still only 23, Hackenberg could be at the end of the line.

A move too beautiful for words. Mere hours after criticizing the Jets’ coaching staff for failing to fix his terrible mechanics, Hackenberg has been acquired by back-to-the-future coach Jon Gruden. Even in Gruden’s prehistoric environment, Hackenberg will be facing almost impossible odds of making the roster, as evidenced by the Jets’ “compensation.” He starts out behind Derek Carr, E.J. Manuel and Connor Cook on the depth chart. One of the biggest draft reaches in recent memory — Hackenberg never looked like a legitimate prospect at Penn State before the Jets selected him with the No. 51 overall pick in 2016 — Hack is going to need a miracle to prolong his NFL career beyond 2018.

The former No. 51 overall pick was unsurprisingly intercepted on his very first throw of the game, then outdid himself by tossing another easy duck for the Apollos to pick off and take a 9-0 lead into the half. He was replaced by former Titans sixth-rounder Zach Mettenberger, who lit up the box score with 120 yards and two downfield touchdowns in only two quarters of play. Assuming Mettenberger is handed the reigns to the Express, Hackenberg’s stint as the team’s starter will complete with a dazzling 51.6% completion rate and dangerous 4.5 YPA. Coach Mike Singletary would be wise to permanently slot the perennial bust as the team’s No. 3 moving forward.

The former No. 51 overall pick of the Jets just three years ago, Hackenberg spent the 2018 season out of the league before landing in the AAF, where he beat out Zach Mettenberger for the Express starting job. Hackenberg was as bad, if not worse, than what we saw from him in his NFL days. Sheer panic takes over at the mere sight of pressure for Hackenberg, and that was the case on Sunday in a league where defenses are only allowed to send five defenders as pass rushers. Hackenberg tossed up plenty of prayers, all of which went unanswered. “Brandon Silvers” replaced Hackenberg late in the loss. Mettenberger will probably start the next game.

Hackenberg, of course, was an NFL second-round pick just 2.5 years ago by the Jets, a glaring mistake by GM Mike Maccagnan. The Alliance of American Football (AAF) is a startup football league filled with ex-NFL practice-squad and fringe players who never made it in the league. Hackenberg was taken with the seventh pick in the second round, 15th overall. The Express’ head coach is Mike Singletary. The league kicks off on February 9.

The AAF, which will open play in February, will hold a quarterback draft later this month, and Hackenberg has signed up to be one of the quarterbacks available. The former second-rounder likely hopes a good showing in the new league will earn him another NFL shot, but those chances are slim.

Connor Cook was added to the practice squad in a swap of failed former Big Ten quarterbacks to whom Jon Gruden assigned pre-draft first-round grades.

That’s not a compliment. Cimini said Hackenberg’s passes have been “fluttering” and described his footwork as “robotic.” At Wednesday’s practice, Hackenberg sailed two straight 15-yard throws over the head of his tight end with no defenders in sight. A rookie having a rough day in June isn’t anything to lose sleep over, but the second-round pick remains a major project. “Right now I expect him to look sloppy because he’s seeing a whole boat load of defenses that are coming at him daily,” said coach Todd Bowles. “There’s going to be a growth period.” Even with free agent Ryan Fitzpatrick twisting in the wind, Hackenberg isn’t a realistic candidate to play 2016 snaps.

Even by the standards of a meaningless preseason game populated by second- and third-stringers, it’s a stunningly-awful line. Things got so bad Philly Voice’s Jimmy Kempski quipped Hackenberg’s best throw was a spike. The No. 51 overall pick of the draft — seriously — finishes the preseason 17-of-47 (36.1 percent) for 159 yards (3.38 YPA), one touchdown and two interceptions. The disaster is in no way surprising considering the way Hack regressed at Penn State. The Jets have to be feeling foolish for blowing such a valuable pick. An injury may have to be invented to “redshirt” Hack on I.R. If not, the Jets will be forced to make a roster move with Geno Smith or Bryce Petty.

Hackenberg did not see any snaps in the first preseason game, but the Jets are expected to get him some work on Friday night. Even so, it has become clear he is destined for a redshirt season. Geno Smith is currently locked in as the backup, and Bryce Petty is competing for a roster spot.