Player: Christian Hackenberg

Position: Quarterback

Draft Status: Second round, 51st pick (New York Jets) 

Competition for starting gig: Geno Smith and Bryce Petty

Dynasty Rookie Quarterback Ranking: #9

Hack's career in Happy Valley got off to a great start. He put up 10 touchdowns in his first five starts for Penn State, displaying that strong arm and prototypical build that made him a top recruit coming out of high school in Lehighton, Pennsylvania.

That very same freshman season saw the then 19-year-old quarterback finish with 20 touchdowns and just 10 picks en route to leading a then sanctioned Penn State team to a 7-5 record. It culminated in a four-touchdown performance in a season-ending win against Wisconsin. 

Unfortunately, everything seemed to go downhill for Hackenberg from there. With Penn State's bowl ban lifted the following season, he simply couldn't continue the magic we saw in 2013. Hack ended up throwing more interceptions (15) than touchdowns (12). And while his season did end on a high note with a four-touchdown outing in a Pinstripe Bowl win over Boston College, the issues we would end up analyzing on tape became apparent. 

More than this, Penn State's offensive scheme under head coach James Franklin played a role in Hack's regression. He'd end up tallying 10 more touchdowns than interceptions as a junior, but saw his completion percentage drop to just 53.5 in the process, yet another sign that accuracy was an issue. 

With no real reason to continue seeing his stock drop, Hackenberg declared for the NFL Draft following a disastrous 139-yard performance in the Gator Bowl against Georgia. 

Scouting Report

Strengths: At 6-foot-4 and 223 pounds, Hackenberg has the size teams look for in a pure pocket passer. He can see over the top of the defenses, which gives him a built-in ability to scan the field. He can make every thrown on the field, most with the velocity NFL teams look for. Primarily due to the struggles of Penn State's offensive line, Hackenberg displayed the ability to read blitz packages pre-snap. He also ran in a pro-style system under Bill O'Brien as a freshman. 

Weaknesses: Where to start? A lack of accuracy is obviously the biggest issue here. Not only did Hackenberg show the inability to actually hit receivers' hands on intermediate passes, his ball placement was atrocious at Penn State. Too often, easy throws were made more difficult by this lack of accuracy, which brings up Hack's inability to give his receivers an opportunity to put up YAC. Mechanics and release are terribly inconsistent, both of which have a direct impact on his accuracy. And while Penn State's offensive line was bad, a lot of the sacks Hack took were on him. He has no internal clock in the pocket, can't escape pressure and too often stepped up into the face of pressure. 

2016 Outlook

This is all going to depend on whether the Jets actually retain Ryan Fitzpatrick, who continues to balk at the team's contract offer. If not, it might end up being Hack, Bryce Petty and Geno Smith competing for a starting job. 

Even then, there's absolutely no reason to believe the Jets would throw Hackenberg out there as a raw rookie with all the issues his tape has shown. He's simply years away from being able to even be considered a logical option to take the field during a meaningful football game. 

Dynasty Outlook

Projection on top of projection. If Hackenberg is able to fix his mental issues, primarily his pocket awareness, that will be the first step in a process of maturation needed for him to become a viable NFL quarterback. He'd then have to take on the mechanical issues, something that will help with what has been disastrous inaccuracy in the past. 

These are some rather lofty steps for the former Penn State quarterback. Young signal callers with one area to work on struggle enough. Now add in all of Hack's weaknesses, and all we can do is project years down the road. 

If he were to fix these issues, there's a chance Hackenberg could turn into an average starter in the NFL. That's a lot working against him right there. 

As of right now, we have Hackenberg as the ninth-best dynasty quarterback from this draft class. That pretty much tells you where we are at with him.