Maybe Mike Maccagnan should just trade the Jets’ second-round pick now.
The Jets general manager might take a look at the team’s history with second-round picks, especially lately, and decide the Jets would be better off without one. For a team filled with first-round draft blunders that have been strung together on YouTube, their second-round struggles might be more confounding.
The team has not drafted a solid player in the second round since David Harris in 2007. You have to go back to 1979, when they took Mark Gastineau, to find the last Pro Bowl player on offense or defense they drafted in the round (Justin Miller made it as a kick returner in 2005).
Forty players selected in the second round from 2008-16 have made a Pro Bowl – players such as Rob Gronkowski, LeSean McCoy, Bobby Wagner, DeSean Jackson, Derek Carr and Le’Veon Bell. During that time, the Jets’ second-round picks have ranged from pure busts to players who showed flashes to those who have not been able to get on the field.
The Jets have had three general managers over that span, but none of them seem immune to the second-round jinx. Mike Tannenbaum traded away second-round picks in 2008, ’09 and ’11. Outside of taking Harris, those look like Tannenbaum’s best moves in the round.
In 2010, the Jets selected Vladimir Ducasse, a raw offensive lineman from UMass. He wound up starting just five games for the Jets as he bounced between guard and tackle. He has gone on to have a long career as a backup offensive lineman with the Vikings, Bears, Ravens and now the Bills. The postscript to this one is the Giants signed one of Ducasse’s UMass teammates as an undrafted free agent – Victor Cruz, a key piece of their 2011 Super Bowl team.
The Jets fell in love with Georgia Tech wide receiver Stephen Hill in 2012. They saw a 6-foot-4 receiver who ran a 4.31 40-yard dash and had to have him. They sent fifth- and seventh-round draft picks to swap second-round draft picks with the Seahawks so they could move up and take Hill. The Jets seemed to discount that Hill came from an option offense in college and caught only 49 passes in three seasons for the Yellow Jackets. Team vice president of college scouting Joey Clinkscales compared him to Calvin Johnson because of their size and speed. Whoops.
“We feel he has a ton of potential,” Tannenbaum said on draft day.
That potential never was realized. Hill scored two touchdowns in his first NFL game, and then he only scored two more in the rest of his career. The Jets cut him before the 2014 season, and he is now out of the league after a few years on the Panthers’ practice squad.
John Idzik replaced Tannenbaum in 2013, and his first second-round pick was a blockbuster, taking West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith. He started all 16 games as a rookie and showed flashes that he could be a long-term solution at quarterback. Ultimately, though, his career with the Jets was derailed by erratic play and a locker-room fight that effectively ended his time as the team’s starter. Smith went 12-18 as the starter and ultimately will be a note in the long line of failed Jets quarterbacks. He is now the Giants’ backup.
Idzik did not do any better in 2014, taking Texas Tech tight end Jace Amaro in the second round. After a prolific college career (106 catches in 2013), Amaro appeared to be the playmaker the Jets needed at tight end. But once he arrived in New Jersey, coaches were disappointed by his toughness and his attitude. He played 14 games for the Jets, scoring two touchdowns, before getting cut before his third season. His most memorable Jets moment was a war of words with Rex Ryan after the coach had moved on to the Bills. Amaro is currently on the Titans.
It is too soon to judge Maccagnan’s first two second-round picks, but the early returns are not promising. Devin Smith, the wide receiver taken in 2015, has struggled to stay healthy and get on the field. He has one touchdown in two years.
Last year’s second-rounder was quarterback Christian Hackenberg, who has yet to play a down for the Jets.
If Smith and Hackenberg don’t get their careers going in 2017, it may be time to add them to the long list of second-round failures by the Jets.
Just get rid of that second-rounder this year, Maccagnan.