After attending Penn State and being drafted in the second round by the Jets in 2016, Christian Hackenberg doesn’t have fond memories of his time in New York.
Hackenberg, who has never played in a regular season NFL game, opened up this week about his bad experience in New York and why Gang Green wasn’t the right fit for him.
“New York was probably the last place I should have been in terms of the market, expectations and circumstances.” Hackenberg said on the “Ross Tucker Football Podcast.”,” on Wednesday. “In my rookie year, we ended up keeping four quarterbacks, so there wasn’t a lot of opportunity for me to develop and grow. There was no plan and it was kind of an atrophied organization.
“And I think it’s just one of those things where the timing and the ending is not set in stone.”
Hackenberg was highly sought after in high school and ranked as the No. 1 overall quarterback recruit in 2013, according to ESPN.
After throwing for 8,457 yards and 48 touchdowns in three seasons at Penn State, he went to the Jets in the second round.
But Hackenberg spent just two seasons with the Jets, who had a quarterback revolving door during his tenure under coach Todd Bowles.
Although snaps were given to Ryan Fitzpatrick, Bryce Petty, Geno Smith and Josh McCown from 2016 to 2017, Hackenberg has never seen the field for the Jets in a significant game.
Hackenberg was finally traded after his second season with the Jets, moving to the Raiders for a conditional seventh-round pick in May 2018.
The previously highly touted prospect would only last three weeks with the Raiders, followed by brief stops with the Eagles and Bengals that year.
Hackenberg said it was a “battle” with all the expectations he faced.
“There are so many situations that go into it. And when I came out, I still knew I had a lot of work to do to get better,” Hackenberg said of the draft. “But at the same time, I had all these expectations and stories that this kid would do well.
“What I had to deal with was kind of a battle internally and externally about the message and how things were portrayed.”
Hackenberg attempted to rekindle his baseball career in 2020 after his NFL career faded, boasting a 90-mph-plus fastball, but quickly gave up on that dream.
