Heading into the offseason, Jets fans have seen what Ryan Fitzpatrick and Geno Smith, the first two quarterbacks on the Green & White depth chart, can do. But they still may not be sure what they've got in now-second-year man Bryce Petty.
General manager Mike Maccagnan said the team's coaches and personnel people are very optimistic about what Petty can bring to the table for 2016 and beyond.
"We're really excited about working with Bryce this offseason," Maccagnan told Jets season ticket holders recently on a special conference call, "and this is going to be a very, very important offseason for him in his development. I think he's the type of kid who's going to hopefully fulfill and achieve that. And we'll get a better feel for where he's at in the preseason next year and we'll kind of measure that compared to where he was as a rookie to see how far he's come along."
Here are four points Maccagnan touched on in giving a progress report for where Petty is as he heads into his second season as a Jets and NFL signalcaller, along with a comment from QBs coach Kevin Patullo about the biggest part of Petty's adjustment from Baylor to the Jets:
1. Arm Strength
Maccagnan: "Bryce is a good athlete for his size, he's got obviously very good size and stature. He has probably one of the strongest arms of all our quarterbacks in terms of his ability to throw the ball and physically make throws that other quarterbacks can't make."
2. Intangibles
Maccagnan:"I think from an intangible standpoint, he is what we thought he was when we drafted him. He's got a very good personality, he's a very hard-working young man, he's a very smart young man. He really, I think, has the work ethic and the commitment to hopefully fulfill some of his physical potential."
3. Adjustment from College to the Pros
Maccagnan: "We feel he's progressed very well from where he was and the system he played in in college. A lot of people understood when we drafted him that there was going to be a bit of an adjustment to the NFL, an NFL system. But it's just the simple fact that he's out there practicing, in the classroom, understanding things more from a system and decision-making standpoint."
Patullo: "Defensively, that's where there's a big game, between college and pro defenses. There's so much no-huddle, tempo and pressure on the defense. In college they just kind of have to line up and play, where at this level, even if you do any of that kind of stuff, the defensive players are so much more athletic and use so much more complex schemes. That's where the big gap is, it's just seeing everything and learning."
4. Prognosis for Year 2
Maccagnan: "We feel ability-wise, he can definitely be a quality No. 2 backup and the rest is kind of up to him. He has the physical ability to potentially be a starting-caliber quarterback, but he still has to go out there and do it on the field in preseason and kind of see where he's at. But we're very excited about working with him and we do feel he has a bright future."
