Maccagnan Makes Shrewd Moves

It hasn’t taken Jets GM Mike Maccagnan long to prove he is a significant upgrade over his bungling predecessor, John Idzik.

New York enjoyed one of the best drafts in the league, stealing the highest rated player on most boards (DE Leonard Williams) with the No. 6 overall pick. The Jets also added a quality quarterback to the mix (Bryce Petty) and a vertical threat for him to throw the ball to (Devin Smith). But perhaps the most impressive thing Maccagnan accomplished over the weekend involved his work with New York’s fifth-round pick.

And, no, we’re not talking about the fifth-round pick he acquired from the Texans in a draft-day swap that saw the Jets move back a dozen spots in the third round and pick up two extra picks (along with veteran WR DeVier Posey) in the process.

If you recall, Maccagnan traded away his own fifth-round pick earlier in the offseason in a deal with the Bears that brought WR Brandon Marshall to the Big Apple. But Maccagnan — in a small but shrewd bit of negotiation — convinced Chicago GM Ryan Pace to throw in a seventh-round pick as part of the exchange. On Saturday, Maccagnan sent Chicago’s seventh-rounder to the Rams for RB Zac Stacy, who wanted out of St. Louis the second his team spent a top-10 pick on Todd Gurley.

In essence, Maccagnan traded his fifth-round pick for Marshall and Stacy, two players who have combined for over 3,500 yards and 29 touchdowns over the last two seasons.

Stacy adds depth and competition to a backfield that already swapped out Chris Johnson for Stevan Ridley earlier in the offseason. Stacy and Ridley both have a similar power-based style, but with Ridley still working his way back from an ACL injury, it made sense for New York to hedge its bet by adding Stacy.

Also in the rotation is Daryl Richardson, another former Rams running back who joined the Jets via waivers a year ago.

“We thought the idea of bringing Zac in for that kind of investment would be very beneficial and increase the competition at that position,” Maccagnan said, according to ESPN.com. “He’s had success in the league. Two years ago, he was close to a 1,000-yard back. This past season, his production wasn’t quite as high, but we do think he’s a good-caliber running back.”

As a final bit of housekeeping, it should be noted that the Jets picked up OG Jarvis Harrison with one of the extra selections they acquired in the trade-down with the Texans. The other additional pick, a seventh-rounder, was sent to the Jaguars in a swap that saw the Jets to move up one spot in the fourth round to pick Petty. Again, shrewd.

Collins’ Quandry

It is tough to imagine a worse weekend than the one La’El Collins just endured. First, he finds out his pregnant ex-girlfriend was murdered (as part of a case in which he is currently not a suspect). Then, his agents attempt to withdraw him from the draft with designs on reentering him in the supplemental draft once this legal case has more clarity; that request was denied. Finally, his agents spread the word that if he was not drafted in the second or third round, he would refuse to sign his contract and simply re-enter the draft in 2016. Instead, he was told that he will not be eligible for the 2016 draft and went undrafted.

The consensus amongst NFL teams is that it is best to wait until Collins’ issues are resolved — he is currently in Baton Rouge, La., to meet with local police as part of the ongoing investigation — before offering him a deal. That conservative approach is necessary in today’s NFL, as franchises are terrified of being associated with someone who could turn out to be the next Aaron Hernandez — no matter how remote that chance may seem.

New York Giants director of college scouting Marc Ross, in comments to reporters in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Saturday, said what most executives across the league are thinking: “We thought about La’el the whole time, because he’s sitting up there. But we were going to pass on that.”

If Collins’ name is cleared, the bidding for his services as an undrafted free agent will be intense. However, teams will have to entice him by promising a path to playing time and good coaching, because they will be extremely limited in what they can offer financially due to the NFL’s strict rookie pay scale.

As such, Collins is the biggest loser from draft weekend. But should he clear his name and strike a deal as a free agent, the team that picks him up will become an immediate winner.

Jarrett’s Bizarre, Blazing Weekend

Clemson DT Grady Jarrett was another candidate for “worst weekend.” Luckily for him, his story already has a happy ending.

Jarrett was having a draft party with a group of about 30 family and friends on Friday — he was expected to be selected in the second or third round — when his house caught fire, burning up much of his sports memorabilia and mementos. The entire group was forced to scatter into nearby hotel rooms, only to resume the viewing party on Saturday at a cousin’s house.

That’s when the good news hit.

First, Jarrett was picked in the fifth round by the Falcons. That has special meaning because his father, five time Pro Bowler Jessie Tuggle, spent his entire playing career in Atlanta. When GM Thomas Dimitroff called Jarrett to make the pick and found out he was staying in a hotel with no spare clothes, he immediately sent him plenty of Falcons gear to hold him over.

Jarrett’s agent, Carmen Wallace, told NFL Media the home can be saved but needs work.

“It was crazy,” said Wallace of the Jarrett family’s weekend on the move.

In retrospect, “crazy” is the perfect word to describe draft weekend. After all, the Jets were the big winners, a top-15 prospect went undrafted and Jarrett was rescued by the family franchise.

Yup, crazy sums things up pretty well.

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