New York Jets: Is Christian Hackenberg their worst draft pick ever?

The New York Jets have made many poor draft picks over the years. Was Christian Hackenberg their worst draft selection ever?

Now that the Christian Hackenberg error, er, Era is over, it’s time to evaluate whether he is the worst draft selection in New York Jets history. Gang Green has certainly had a long list of forgettable draftees over their 58-year history. The Penn State University product certainly has to rank near the top of that brutal list.

Just consider this: The former Nittany Lions signal-caller was chosen in the second round (51st overall pick) in the 2016 NFL Draft and did not take a single snap over two seasons. Not one. General manager Mike Maccagnan vastly over-reached for a player that some draft experts had ranked as a fourth or fifth round value. It’s amazing he was even able to receive a conditional 2019 seventh-round pick from the Oakland Raiders for Hackenberg.

With all due respect though to the inaccurate Nittany Lions QB, there is one Jets draft selection that was even worse. I’ve been following the Jets closely for many years and I’ve seen a plethora of dreadful picks. One really stands out. Drum roll please — New York’s worst selection ever was defensive end Vernon Gholston of Ohio State. Oh, the pain.

The 6-3, 260-pounder was selected with the sixth overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft by then GM Mike Tannenbaum. New York was looking for a dynamic pass rusher — aren’t they always — and Gholston seemed to fit the bill. He was coming off a season in which he was named a first-team All-American by Pro Football Weekly after recording a team-record 14.5 sacks for the 11-2 Buckeyes. Gholston added 15.5 tackles for loss and finished his career in Columbus with 21.5 sacks.

The Jets thought they had their man. His body looked like it was chiseled out of stone. Gholston was projected to be a Top 10 pick. He looked like a can’t miss prospect. There was just one problem though — he could not perform on the professional level. At all. The Detroit, MI native did not make a single start during the 2008 campaign. He was relegated to special teams for the most part and finished that forgettable season with only nine tackles in 15 games.

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Rex Ryan replaced Eric Mangini as head coach in 2009 but things did not get much better for Gholston. He started just three games and tallied only 15 tackles in 14 contests and failed to record a single sack. Circumstances got even worse the following year. In what became his final NFL season, Gholston started only two games and finished with a scant 10 tackles in 16 games. The Jets eventually released him in March 2011 and he never played in a NFL regular season game again.

Gholston did not record a single sack in 45 career contests. That is incredible. And downright embarrassing. There is little doubt that Gholston is one of the biggest busts in NFL Draft history.