Jets general manager Mike Maccagnan addressed the media today at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center. Here are three key takeaways…
Positive Slope
After a pro redshirt season, Hackenberg has progressed nicely and has showed a good understanding of John Morton's offense in the first two days of training camp.
"Of course it's all been in shorts and t-shirts this offseason, but he's done some good things," Maccagnan said of Hackenberg. "We're kind of excited about him along with Bryce [Petty] and Josh [McCown]. All three of those guys did some good things this offseason and this is the next step in the process in terms of getting the pads on. We'll see what he does out there, but I think the initial impression is he's made good progress. We're going to have a better impression with practices and the preseason games."
White Noise
While pundits aren't expecting much from the Jets following their 5-11 2016 campaign, Maccagnan is more concerned about what's taking place between the walls of 1 Jets Drive.
"When you're in this business, you have to focus on what's inside this building," he said. "I like our offseason program in terms of the things that we've done. I like the chemistry and character we're developing of our guys. To a certain degree, it may give people motivation and a little chip on their shoulders, but that's not something I focus on. Especially in this job, you have to think about how to move this team forward."
Sticking to the Vision
When Maccagnan was named general manager in 2015, he made his desire to build the team through the draft clear. Even though he recognizes it's a process that takes time, both the short- and long-term goals of winning haven't changed.
"Our focus was to always build that team so we'd have a young core coming together and ideally at a time we could be competitive for the playoffs," he said. "That's our goal and I think when you look at what we did from day one until now, it was a natural progression of how we're trying to build this thing. Our focus hasn't really changed."
