Draft Review: New York Jets

Editors’ Note: As part of our ongoing post-draft coverage, we’re doing our very best to leave no stone unturned and bringing you draft recaps from each and every NFL franchise. Make sure you’re ready for your dynasty league rookie draft by staying up on all these articles, checking out our rookie SWOT series, rookie draft guide, rookie rankings, rookie draft cheat sheet and mock draft rooms. There are simply no better resources out there for dynasty fantasy football enthusiasts.

New York’s biggest needs entering the draft were on the offensive line and among their linebacker group. In between making those picks, however, they made a couple of skill group selections that could be beneficial to dynasty owners in the long-term. The Jets also added a handful of players as undrafted free agents who could prove to be worth monitoring for those in deep leagues.

Let’s take a look at each of these intriguing selections and additions.

Christian Hackenberg, QB (Round 2, Pick 51 overall)

By now, most people know the story of Christian Hackenberg, but I’ll share the Cliff Notes version here. Following a storied high school career, he was named a Freshman All-American after throwing for 2,955 yards and 20 touchdowns. Then, his play dropped off as a sophomore as he threw more interceptions (15) than touchdowns (12.) His junior season was nearly as disappointing as he threw for just 2,525 yards and 16 touchdowns before declaring for the NFL Draft.

Despite his low completion percentage over his final two seasons at Penn State (54.8%) and inconsistent play overall, the Jets made Hackenberg the fourth quarterback selected in the draft.

[am4show have=’g1;’ guest_error=’sub_message’ user_error=’sub_message’ ]

With ideal size (6’-4”, 223 pounds) and arm strength, Hackenberg looks like an NFL starter. He stands in the pocket well when not under pressure, goes through his progressions nicely and can make all the throws. At times, he looks like Drew Bledsoe. Unfortunately, he also looks like JaMarcus Russell at times as well.

Hackenberg’s accuracy is absolutely horrible. Regularly overthrowing wide open receivers, he leaves them open to take big hits which won’t go over well with professional pass catchers. He also has a slow delivery which will be a problem playing against faster defenders who can quickly close on open receivers and his play gets worse when he’s under pressure or has been rattled by big hits.

Although Hackenberg no doubt has the tools to be a quality NFL quarterback and perhaps fantasy contributor, his trouble dealing with pressure and the eye popping problems he’s had with accuracy will likely keep him from being a factor for dynasty owners. While he should be rostered in two-quarterback and super-flex leagues, he’s probably best left on the waiver wire in most shallow dynasty leagues despite the tools he possesses and the lack of talent currently in front of him on the Jets’ depth chart.

Charone Peake, WR (Round 7, Pick 241 overall)

Peake is one of my favorite prospects this year. I wasn’t necessarily a fan of him until I saw him run his 40-yard dash at the combine in Indianapolis. Standing 6’-2” tall and weighing 209 pounds, he ran that 40-yards effortlessly – and did it in just 4.45 seconds. It was impressive to say the least.

As a fan of the Big Ten, I don’t watch much ACC football, so I went to YouTube to watch highlights of Peake. Again, I was impressed.

Very good off the line of scrimmage, Peake uses his size to his advantage, powering through press coverage while not getting rerouted easily. He’s also a strong route runner. Showing sharp breaks with good acceleration out of them, he’s able to gain separation on short and intermediate routes, too. Also displaying good deep speed – particularly for a player his size – he has the ability to get on top of the defense and a knack for running under the ball to make over the shoulder catches.

Although this all sounds great, there’s a reason Peake fell to the seventh round of the NFL Draft.

Despite his size, speed and route running, Peake never really got it all together while at Clemson. Not able to crack the starting lineup until his final year on campus, his biggest season came in 2015 when he caught 50 passes for 716 yards and five touchdowns – which doesn’t usually lead to great NFL production. He also struggled with drops at times while in college.

All things told, Peake screams upside despite the modest stats he posted in college. On top of playing behind DeAndre Hopkins, Sammy Watkins, Martavis Bryant and Mike Williams, he suffered a pair of knee injuries while at Clemson which slowed his development and didn’t give him a chance to be a playmaker until his final year on campus.

Dynasty owners should see Peake as an excellent lottery ticket this off-season. Currently going in the third round, his price tag is incredibly cheap for those looking for WR2 upside at a low cost. He has a chance to be a far better pro than college player and I’m very much willing to invest a third round rookie pick to find out.

Robby Anderson, WR (Undrafted Free Agent)

Of the Jets’ 13 undrafted free agents, Anderson is probably the most likely to make a fantasy impact.

After starting his career as a cornerback, he missed the 2014 season due to academic problems and switched to the offensive side of the ball. It was a good change as he hauled in 70 passes for 939 yards and seven touchdowns as a senior. Then he raised eyebrows at his pro day, blazing a 4.34 40-time and posting a 36.5 inch vertical jump and 128-inch broad jump – all of which would have ranked him in the top-10 among wide receivers at the combine.

Tall (6’-3”) and thin (190 pounds), Anderson has the ability to make highlight reel catches with great timing on his jumps and excellent hand-eye coordination while high pointing balls in traffic. Unfortunately, he also drops too many passes.

Anderson isn’t worth a roster spot in most leagues just yet, but his name is one worth remembering for those looking for a deep stash.

Jalin Marshall, WR (Undrafted Free Agent)

Marshall was a highly touted high school player but never lived up to expectations in his three seasons at Ohio State. Then he made the head scratching decision to leave school with two years of eligibility left.

At 5’-10”, 200 pounds and with his shiftiness, he’ll have to work out of the slot as a pro which is a position that isn’t utilized much by the Jets. Having never had a 40-catch season and never reaching 500 receiving yards in a campaign, Marshall wasn’t able to show he had the chops to be a quality Big Ten receiver. It’s very questionable that he’ll be able to do it in the NFL.

Jason Vander Laan, TE (undrafted Free Agent)

Vander Laan was a college quarterback at Ferris State University in Michigan but is making the position switch to tight end in the pros. He tore up the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference to the tune of 2,625 yards and 27 touchdowns through the air and 1,542 yards and 24 more scores on the ground.

Listed at 6’-4” and 241 pounds, he has the frame to play the position, but his reported 4.75 40-yard dash (which would have ranked 7^th among tight ends at the combine) and 6.73 second three-cone drill (which would have easily been the top time at the position in Indy) is what turned heads at his pro day. One scout reportedly called him, “Tim Tebow 2.0.”

He’s a longshot, but anybody that thought Tebow could have made an impact at tight end had he gave it a shot should remember Vander Laan’s name.

Ross Martin, K (Undrafted Free Agent)

How dare I mention a kicker in a fantasy football article, right? Although I don’t condone it, there are plenty of fantasy leagues that still use the position so Martin is worth mentioning here.

Martin has a big leg, hitting eight of 10 field goals attempted from 50-yards or longer during his career at Duke and connecting on 26 of his 30 attempts as a senior in 2015.

Nick Folk is currently entrenched as the Jets’ kicker. Being just 31-years old and having converted 78-of-91 attempts (85.7%) over the last three seasons, Folk’s job should be safe in New York. Nevertheless, Martin is a name to monitor for those with a “K” spot in their starting lineup.

[/am4show]