When they arrived at their selection in the second round Friday, the Jets pulled the trigger on Penn State quarterback Christian Hackenberg.
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The feel-good story ended on a sour note, as Fitzpatrick threw three fourth-quarter interceptions in the season finale – a crushing loss to the Buffalo Bills that cost the Jets a playoff spot.
Lee, who declared for the draft as a redshirt sophomore and won’t turn 22 until October, also continues a trend by Maccagnan of selecting young players. Lee, initially an overlooked member of the Buckeyes’ now-famed 2013 recruiting class as a three-star high school quarterback, redshirted his first season on campus before bursting onto the scene during Ohio State’s 2014 national championship season. “We like Ryan. We’ve said this from Day 1”.
The Jets on the other hand for the most part had a very good draft with their picks at No. 20, 51 and 83.
Jenkins was worked out by Bowles a few weeks ago, and the Jets coach told him he’d see him soon. The overall surprises began with the San Diego Chargers not taking cornerback Jalen Ramsey with the third overall pick, and it had a trickling affect throughout the entire draft.
“It’s been one heck of a ride”, Lee said.
“Yeah, I’m just really looking forward to getting better with this opportunity, ” Hackenberg said. “He’s been a real big help to me through this process”.
Lee became the fifth Ohio State player drafted in the first round this year, joining former teammates Joey Bosa (No. 3), Ezekiel Elliott (No. 4), Eli Apple (No. 10) and Taylor Decker (No. 16). As a rookie, Lee will likely back up veteran Erin Henderson, who revived his career and supplanted Demario Davis in the starting lineup last season.
Bowles isn’t concerned about outside perception that Lee is perhaps a bit smaller than some traditional linebackers.
The question was always in place by National Football League personnel if Lee was big enough to play the linebacker position in the National Football League but former Buckeye linebacker Ryan Shazier was one of the trendsetters of the “smaller” linebacker role, a role that Lee should do very well with on the Jets defense. At the moment, the Jets have even discussed potentially drafting a QB somewhere in this years draft. He’ll play in the nickel defense to start, and back up Erin Henderson in the base defense. The 21 year old has the strength to play inside against the run, and the speed to play on the edge and drop into coverage. “I’ve said this repeatedly”.
“We have a heck of a defensive line in NY and the guys up there are hungry”, Lee said. A lot of them had Lee going No. 17 to the Atlanta Falcons.
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Many Jets fans have the logic of “just pay the man, he’s the best quarterback option we’ve had since Chad Pennington”. “In my mind, I think my whole experience up there really prepared me to be able to take this next step. He has a chip on his shoulder the size of the Rock of Gibraltar, and with how naturally competitive he has shown that he is, you can probably guess that he will want to come in and silence everyone who criticizes him so easily”. “I wouldn’t mind if the New York Giants selected me”. Or do you penalize him for not adapting enough to Franklin’s more wide-open college approach?
