Jets: Quincy Enunwa’s Injury Hurts Christian Hackenberg More Than Bryce Petty
The Jets didn’t have much to write home about at the receiver position before Quincy Enunwa found himself on IR. Now, nobody knows who the Jets will trot out to catch passes.
After barely missing out on the postseason with a 10-6 finish in 2015, the Jets floundered their way out of contention with a dismal 2016 campaign. As a result, the Jets decided a full-fledged rebuild was in order, cutting ties with veterans Brandon Marshall, Eric Decker, Nick Folk and Nick Mangold. Without Marshall and Decker around, Quincy Enunwa emerged as the clear-cut top option in the passing game.
However, Gang Green suffered a massive blow when Enunwa went down with a season-ending neck injury. Now, it appears that Robby Anderson, Jalin Marshall and Charone Peake will be candidates for extra targets. Austin Seferian-Jenkins will also be a key contributor at tight end once his two game suspension concludes.
What’s even worse for New York is the sad reality that their young quarterbacks will have a much harder time developing. Josh McCown was brought in to be more of a mentor to Bryce Petty and Christian Hackenberg, and less of a starting quarterback. His time atop the depth chart will be short lived, as, at the age of 38, he doesn’t have much football left in front of him. He can be left out of the conversation regarding the future.
With Enunwa out of the picture, Petty and Hackenberg have comparable experience with the receivers they’ll be throwing too. That’s not okay when they’re the ones who need development and potentially groomed into starting quarterbacks. Petty has at least had a chance to throw the rock, starting a few games last season after then-starter Ryan Fitzpatrick proved ineffective.
Hackenberg has yet to take a snap in a regular season contest. The former second round selection has waited for his chance since he was drafted from Penn State. This year, he could finally get his opportunity under center. The bad news is that he will not shine as brightly without an adequate arsenal of targets. In fact, this could be the worst receiving bunch in the league.
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While Petty has it bad, Hackenberg has it worse. Petty still sits above the Penn State product on the depth chart and the likelihood of any decent production emerging from their current arsenal is quite small. If Hackenberg does get a chance, he’d have to shoulder such a load that no newcomer should have to carry, and he won’t be able to do it. He’d be stuffed down on the depth chart, unlikely to rise again.
The Jets may decide to keep him on the bench until they acquire proper weaponry for him to use, effectively continuing the waiting game. That’s the smart move for the franchise but slows his development further, as riding the pine doesn’t help his on-field abilities progress. It will, however, let him learn much more about the game. The waiting game could last another few years depending on what other personnel decisions are made down the line.
All that is known at the moment is that the Jets are not competing for anything other than avoiding the gutter of the AFC. McCown may not make it through this season as the starter or even the preseason if one of the two young signal-callers impress.
He could sustain an injury that keeps him off the gridiron long-term, as he has in the past. Nobody knows exactly when Hack will get his chance. He will at some point, and if it is this season, he’ll be thrown into an unfriendly wildfire of a situation in East Rutherford.