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A look at what's going on around the New York Jets (post-draft version): 1. Full house: Drafting a potential franchise quarterback comes with great responsibility. The Jets must do everything possible to aid Sam Darnold’s development, which right now means getting him ready to play as soon as possible. They can do that by uncluttering the depth chart, a nice way of saying it’s time to part ways with Christian Hackenberg and Bryce Petty. They have five quarterbacks on the roster, two too many. The ideal setup for the start of training camp is Josh McCown, Teddy Bridgewater and Darnold, because this would allow Darnold to get plenty of reps in practice and preseason games. To use a Bill Parcells-ism, Hackenberg and Petty are “progress stoppers.” Every rep that goes to Hackenberg and Petty is a lost opportunity for Darnold. Neither Hackenberg nor Petty factor into the Jets’ future, and it’s time the front office recognizes that and moves on. Petty had his chances the past two years. Hackenberg still hasn't stepped foot on the field, which is rather amazing and telling. The Jets were open to trading Petty during the draft, but they found no takers. People around the league expect the Jets to release him, and that could happen as soon as Monday. For his sake, the sooner the better. Ditto, Hackenberg. An immediate break gives them a chance to catch on before teams settle into their 0ffseason practices and minicamps. There’s always a chance general manager Mike Maccagnan brings Hackenberg to training camp, with the hope he develops into a No. 2 quarterback in 2019, but that would be counterproductive. Hackenberg needs reps to improve, and that won’t happen with Darnold as the focal point. It also would be awkward with the two young quarterbacks in the same room. In the NFL, there’s room for only one golden boy per team.  “We’ll see how that unfolds here in the next little bit of time,” Maccagnan said Saturday at the conclusion of the draft, commenting on whether he will release a quarterback.
There could be more movement in training camp. It doesn’t make sense to keep McCown and Bridgewater -- no need for two veterans on one-year contracts -- so stay tuned for more episodes of “All My Quarterbacks.” 2. Money men: If the Jets had signed Kirk Cousins in free agency, they’d be paying him $90 million for three years. Compared to that, Darnold is a bargain at $30.4 million over four years (the contract projection for the third overall pick, according to overthecap.com). Obviously there’s risk with Darnold because he’s an unproven commodity, but he has a chance to be better than Cousins. That’s why it always made sense for them to draft and develop their own quarterback instead of buying a 30-year-old. The Jets failed to recognize that as they approached free agency; they would have welcomed Cousins with open arms. Being snubbed was a blessing in disguise. 3. Big Apple turnovers: The knock on Darnold is that he commits too many turnovers -- 20 interceptions in his past 20 games. Despite the mistakes, he was widely heralded as the top quarterback prospect in the draft. Why? Because talent evaluators don't base their decisions on stats; they dig deeper, looking at the why and how. One AFC scout used Andrew Luck as a comparison -- a talented player who gets into trouble when he tries to do too much. (People forget Luck has 68 interceptions in 70 NFL games.) The scout said he believes Darnold can outgrow his mistakes because of his tangible and intangible traits. "Sure [they concern me], but his turnovers are similar to Luck's turnovers," the scout said. "He's a quarterback with all the tools and leadership qualities they hoped they had in Hackenberg." Another AFC scout suggested Darnold faltered last season under the weight of enormous expectations, saying, "He was so lights-out [in 2016] when he came out of nowhere that he set such a high bar for himself -- and he fell back to Earth. He went from the sure-fire, obvious No. 1 pick to a kid with some questions. He's a laid-back, chill, everyman's man, but that was a lot to digest. It might be something to note in the New York market." News flash: The expectations will be ginormous in New York, too. 4. Big Mac to Small Mac: This will always be known as the Darnold draft for the Jets, but a fascinating trend developed after the first pick. Maccagnan drafted more small-school players than ever before. Consider: Third round: Defensive end Nathan Shepherd, Fort Hays State. He became only the third player in the history of the Division II school to be selected in the common-draft era, the first since 1987. Sixth round: Cornerback Parry Nickerson, Tulane. The school produced only four draft picks from 2010 to 2017. Sixth round: Defensive tackle Folorunso Fatukasi, UConn. He was the first player in school history to be drafted by the Jets. Sixth round: Running back Trenton Cannon, Virginia State. He became the school's first draft pick since 1996.
This was out of character for Maccagnan. In his first three drafts, only four of 22 picks came from outside the Power 5 conferences, and one of them was punter Lachlan Edwards of Sam Houston State. Maccagnan acknowledged his track record for picking big-school players, saying it never was planned. As for this year: "We found some guys that we liked [from smaller schools], and the way the board unfolded they were there where we felt we had good value for them." 5. Where's the beef? For the second straight year, the Jets didn't draft an offensive lineman. Maccagnan has drafted only two in four years, including starting right tackle Brandon Shell. It's just not his thing. Clearly he prefers to build the line through free agency (e.g., left tackle Kelvin Beachum, left guard James Carpenter and center Spencer Long). It's not necessarily a flawed philosophy, but it can get expensive. 6. Odds and ends: When the Jets drafted Darnold, they snapped a run of nine straight first-round picks on defense, the NFL's longest streak since the 1970 merger. ... The past four running backs they've selected have been in the sixth or seventh rounds -- Cannon, Elijah McGuire, Tommy Bohanon and Terrance Ganaway. ... What is it with the Jets and the sixth round? In the past two drafts, they've had six sixth-round picks. ... When the mock drafts started last fall, the Jets were linked in some of them to LSU pass-rusher Arden Key -- in the first round. They could've had him in the third round, but they opted for Shepherd. Key (21 career sacks) disappointed last season and fell to the bottom of the third, where the Oakland Raiders picked him. ... Based on his 40-yard-dash times at the scouting combine (4.32 seconds), Nickerson is the fastest Jets player in recent history. Combine records go back to 2000.
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