Former Jets Second-Round QB Pick Sounds Off on What Went Wrong in New York

A former New York Jets quarterback prospect spoke about his time with the team.

Aug 31, 2017; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Philadelphia Eagles offensive tackle Taylor Hart (77) knocks the ball loose from New York Jets quarterback Christian Hackenberg (5) during the second half at MetLife Stadium. / Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Jets haven't had much success in drafting quarterbacks over much of the past few decades. Frankly, the Jets quarterback play hasn't been up to standards during that span, too.

Fans and the front office understood that, going out and landing Aaron Rodgers. While Rodgers hasn't found any bit of success in New York yet due to getting injured on the first drive in his debut season last year, everyone knows what he can do when healthy.

For the faithful fans, a lot of them will wait until they see the all-world quarterback perform to make any judgment. They've been hurt too many times to believe that something is ever going to work out.

There were many failed quarterbacks before Zach Wilson, including Christian Hackenberg. Hackenberg, the Penn State product, was drafted in the second round of the 2016 NFL draft.

Not only did he not succeed, but he never took a snap for the team.

It was an interesting situation for many different reasons, one that's happened far too often for the organization.

Another quarterback didn't work out and it made the Jets go out and draft Sam Darnold with the No. 3 pick just two years later.

Hackenberg spoke about everything that happened on the "Ross Tucker Podcast," admitting what went wrong.

“New York was probably the last place I should’ve gone," Hackenberg said,

"In terms of the market, the expectations, the way it was. My rookie year we ended up keeping four quarterbacks so there just wasn't a lot of opportunity for me to develop and grow... It was just one of those things where I think just the timing and where I ended up just wasn't in the cards for me at that position."

Playing in New York isn't easy and many quarterbacks have found that out the hard way. If they don't perform the way that fans expect them to, they'll often hear about it. Similar to Wilson, Darnold, and all the others, fans became unhappy.

Hackenberg's situation is a bit different due to never playing, but it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows for him, either.

The Jets will hope that Rodgers won't be another story in their failed quarterback journey. Everything looks promising heading into the season, so hopefully, it finally flips.

New York fans certainly deserve it.