Jets Assistant GM Rex Hogan Talks Free Agency & Draft (3/11)

good catching up with him. We're staying in constant not constant communication, but randomly throughout the year we had bouncing football in life off each other. I've known him since he was a high school player and recruiting him in to Notre Dame former Jet too for a stint. How do you balance this because everybody in the NFL it's a small circle. When you've been around as long as you have and there's a lot of people want to get in your ears. So how do you keep the

train moving? So to speak? Yeah, and just like you said, to keep the train moving, it's there's times where guys will say, hey, man, can I grab five ten minutes? Yeah, walk with me. So it'll be a walk from the hotel over to the stadium, or I'll have guys meet me outside the stadium and I'll do the walk with him and catch up that way. So there's constant requests man between between agents and other different companies and you know,

everything everything football related. Somebody wants a chance to sit down and talk to you, and there's a lot of guys who are trying to get into football, and so you just take time, make time for people and you know, cultivate relationships and then hopefully gets some sleep when you get back in New Jersey exactly. Hey, so I wanted to ask you, and I do every year, but how do you guys balance this in terms of free agency?

Legal temporary period starts March fourteens. Free agency commences March sixteenth. But you're here watching all these prospects as well, so you gotta have a couple of balls up in there at the same time. Yeah, we're We're really fortunate to have a and just incredible group of support staff and people who work with this with you know, Christina wedding dance by Oski and how they coordinate everything for us

from the personnel operations aspect. So we are constantly jumping from going from free agency, from pro to college and so you're wearing different hats, and we've got great leadership and and Greg neshma is our pro director and Chad Alexander is our director of player personnel, and then you've got Phil Savage and John Carr. I mean, I can go on and on about the whole group and and you know, highlight each one of them individually and what

they do and what they bring. So it helps me and Joe obviously to have that kind of support system as a group and how we can bounce from different aspect of different aspects, knowing that they've got everything coordinated and ready for us, so we can just hop in the in the seat and we're ready for the next meeting. Where do you have to be in terms of free agency before coming here, because you guys were having staff

meetings before the party for Indianapolis. Yeah, so you know, just everybody getting on the same page in terms of how we want to address free agency. You know, how we how we want to you know, appropriate the the amount of capital that we have, you know, financially, and you know, identify what's the strength of free agency, what's the strength of the draft, and then you balance both those and then you kind of attack it appropriately in terms of where the value is in between each and

and the balance of each. Like you're talking about, you basically have to have multiple plans of attack because you can have a wish list, right, but until you get there, you don't know how Actually those dominoes are gonna fall. Yeah, yeah, because the franchise tag, that's that's the trump card, right yeah, And that's base in the hole for teams, and once

they put that down, it changes everything. There's a domino effect for it because all of a sudden, you might have that guy up there, they get the franchise tag on him. It's like, all right, we gotta move to the next I wanted to ask you something that Joe said way back when in January said, I think you're constantly evolving. There's some core philosophies that you don't change, but you have to be open to seeing how things

are and maybe adopting certain principles. Can you elaborate a little bit on that, Yeah, I think you look at the two teams that were in the Super Bowl this year and uh, you know, you know the jokes about you know, the rams and don't worry about picks and and how they've attacked it and how they chose to

build it. And then do you look at the Bengals and and how they've they built their roster and how they built their team and we're able to have success and get to the point and with a quick turnaround over two years. You know, they've got some incredible skill players. You know, Joe Burrow is playing at a very high level, and they did some things defensively through free agency and

upgraded their team quickly. So I think we've talked about that and you know, as a group and our different ideas and concepts and philosophies of how do we how do we try and get to that level? You know, what are these teams doing? What what can we take from what they've done, what we can learn, what can we learn and then how to you know, change our philosophy and or adapt and improve. What do you think

of the outcomes of the playoffs? Not the Rams being Super Bowl champion or the way those two teams got there, which you just talked about, but how close everything was amongst the group of teams. When you're seeing those outcomes coming down to either over time or the last two or three minutes of the game. What does that say about where the NFL is right now? Yeah, I think it speaks volumes of how the game is transitioning to just such offensive explosions, right. I mean that there's so

many players coming in from the college level. Now of the teams are playing like almost glorified seven on seven. There's so many receivers who are so skilled. There's quarterbacks that are so skilled coming to the NFL, and it's transitioning over you know, you see teams running those r p O s and you know, it's taking some spread concepts from college and building it in and blending it in with the pro game, and so it those guys have taken off. I mean you watch that, uh you

know the Bills in the in the Chiefs game. That's gonna be one of the most entertaining games, if not the most entertaining game of all time. So wow, Yeah, I'd have to agree. Um, people in Buffalo obviously upset about that, and the Kansas City had it happened to them. They get a big lead and they were not able

to hold onto it today forementioned. Uh, Joey Burrow, I thought it was interesting something that Robert Tellis said when he addressed the media this week, saying, hey, you can do a lot of things to help the young quarterback in that includes addressing needs on the defensive side of the ball. Yeah, and the Rams did that too, you know, making some significant moves and trades and and going out

and getting von Miller. Is that that final piece for a defense to to add pressure, and you know they and with match with Aaron Donald and the rest of that front. You know, when it came time to for the to put it on the defensive back and win the game, the stars played like stars and made it happen. How much better her spot are you guys in this year that maybe last year at this time, just in terms of scheme, familiarity, familiarity with the coaching staffs, the likes,

the dislikes and communications batters. Yeah, it's it's been a significant, you know change. You know, you go from you know, different defensive and offensive philosophies from the previous staff and and then so you're you're learning, you're starting over and just getting that full season under your belt and just knowing knowing the coaches and and hearing their what their thoughts are about players and how they evaluate and their ideas of you know, what we're doing schematically and concepts.

We're all on the same page and so we continue to grow as a player of personnel staff because of the meetings from them, so we can see it through their eyes of what they want and it just helps us build the team that that they want and that

we want together. You guys drafted very talented players. We know that, but what did you think about the way Robert Sala and his staff went about developing them When we talk about this success of that two thousand one draft class, Yeah, we loved what they did with it, man, And that's what we talked about entering is like, hey, we know we're gonna be a super young team and the biggest key is going to be developing these young

guys us and that there's gonna be growing pains. And everybody understood that and just kept working and kept building towards you know, a seventeen games. These guys are a rookies and they're young, and you know, a lot of the team hadn't played in this type of scheme before. So we feel like that the teammate tremendous gen growth and strides wind bet is now live in New Jersey and they're bringing the excitement of win Las Vegas to

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gave me partner up the New York Jets office. Subject to change in terms of condition that wind bet dot Com must be twenty one or older in president of New Jersey. If you are someone you know has a gambling problem called one D seven zero seven one one seven. With the Tampa Bay game, Uh, tell you about this

team late in the season and where the direction is headed. Yeah, I mean, I think especially with the that Zach played and you can see him, you know, trending up after the after the injury, and how the game slowed down for him, and you know he's protecting the ball and getting the ball out quickly and went over a hundred and sixty passes without an interception. So just for him specifically.

It was great to see that improvement, but you saw the confidence and the team grow, especially with a game like that against reigning world champions and Tom Brady, and you know, we went all in for it. We went all into to get it and finish it, and uh, we learned from it. We learned as a staff, we learned, our coaching staff learned. I think we learned as an organization that you know, Robert's gonna go like he says he does, and it just we're gonna go all in,

go after it. I talked to Phil Savage about that game specifically, and he said, it's fifty eight minutes we played, or maybe fifty nine plus minutes of where we are going. That's exactly right. That's a great description, Uh Phil, you know because we we talked about that as a staff, and you know, we have our our weekly up ups after the game and we're like, that was an exposure of what we we can be as a team in

two and moving forward. What do you think about the financial flexibility paired with the draft capital as you guys approach these critical couple of months, because I think it's maybe a little bit under fifty million if it keeps this four and ten overall selections, it's gonna be less than that, will be less than forty million, but obviously you have some room to maneuver. Yeah. Yeah, we feel

really good about that. And you know, we've we constantly as a as a player personnel staff, have to look towards the future, and you know, we've got to build in the moment, but we also have to prepare for tomorrow too, and so we've done that, like like you describe with what we have, the the financial flexibility, with the cat flexibility and the way we've managed it, and then the way we've accumulate a draft capital and the number of picks that we have and and their high

picks and they they they're very valuable to us as an organization to be able to get some young guys with high end talent who love football, who love the game and are passionate about it, and gonna add to the locker room and and hopefully increase the victories. You've been around a long time, have you ever been in this situation in this seat where you do have the not only the two top ten, but the four in

the top thirty eight for the Jets, franchise. It's I think the only third time since nineteen seventy when you have four picks in the top forty. Yeah. No, I'm eighteen years in the league and we've never I've never been a part of a draft where we've had this amount of capital at this type of high end, haven't. I haven't even been on staff where we've had two top ten picks. But it'll be fun, man. We can We've got so many directions we can go and and

add to the team. Yeah. But it's that's something that has Joe's talked about and I'm sure you guys talked about as his staff, is that you can go in different directions. Right, If you want to use that draft capital and go get a veteran player, you can do that. If you want to sit tight, you gotta have confidence where you guys are as his staff, especially after what you did in the draft last year. Joe said, potentially

you get four dynamic players with those first four picks. Yeah, you always want to get starters out of your first and second round picks, and with those four and and how high up they are, we feel really good about it. Um so do you and Joe d uh what's your sense with him here entering Draft three? You guys so tight develop a relationship long before he hired you his assistant d M. But kind of like where is his space right now? You know, Joe kind of stays the

same man. He's steady. It just he's got this unwavering calmness about him of the process that that he's learned during his time in the NFL, from from the Ravens to his brief stint in Chicago and then transition into the Eagles and how successful they were with you know, he's got three super Bowl rings and an understanding of he's taking a little bit of each one of the places that he's been and had success and adjusted it.

And like you said, you know, you always have to keep being able to be flexible with your philosophy and change as the league has and we're going to continue to do it. Can we go back to the two thousand twenty one draft class just a little bit because I want to ask you about a couple of guys who didn't receive a lot of attention, but I know you guys have high hopes for and then times and Nosrel Dean and Jamie Sherwood Unfortunately Sherwood went down with

the achilles. But what do you think about those guys because I think they're kind of overlooked when we think externally as far as the linebacker position is concerned. Yeah, because you know, the changes of the of the NFL, like we discussed from a passing standpoint of you need linebackers who can play in space and who have who

have size and speed and length. And they're both converted safeties who were bigger body players in college and had showed the ability to play in space, and they have the physical traits and the mental traits for what we want for linebacker. And I think they're gonna both gonna continue to ascend just with time on task. Yeah, you know, didn't that's terrible what happened to Sherwood with with the achilles,

but you know he's been in there. I've actually saw both those two guys this past week and in the weight room there and training, and their bodies are growing and maturing. And they're both too two year old guys who's who are going to continue to physically develop and they're looking more and more physically like NFL linebackers now. Like that, Zack Wilson said this offseason is gonna put on a couple of pounds that's natural. During year two, I want to ask you about those four workies at

the top of the draft last year. Not only maybe you can touch upon what they bring to the field, but also the bond they seemingly had developed and they also have natural leadership qualities. And beyond Wilson, I'm talking about Elijah Vera Tucker. Do you get Elijah more? Five touchdowns and eleven games. Michael Carter leads you guys in rushing. He never went down first tackle, no doubt. I mean, he either he either breaks a tackle or makes somebody miss.

That's a good combination to have for a running back. And and just like you saying, just speaking to to Michael specifically, he's he's got a ton of charisma and personality that I'm sure you guys have seen through throughout the interview process. He's people like are naturally drawn to him because he's so outgoing and his personality is is so he's on all the time, and he brings that energy to the to the backfield, and that personality kind

of bleeds into his play. Like guys get fired up watching watching him on the field and break tackles and make people miss and finish him plays and kid gets up and he's got a huge smile on his face after everyone. So really, I mean we thought he was trending towards it, you know, thousand plus all purpose yards before the injury and hated it happened to him. Um,

But just moving back up with Elijah. The Joe called Michael Carter the other day, young m c You like that, Yeah, I like to We'll throw back to the rap game. Um yeah that Yeah. Moving on to Elijah, He's he's another one man personality wise that there. He's a live

wire two and guys are naturally drawn to him. And I'm sure you've heard the documented stories about, you know, his relationship with A. J. Brown and DK Metcalf and how tight that group was in room was and like he was kind of the dude, like they're all all followed the like you you felt that early on in the whole process when he hit the field from rookie minicamp to O T A S. He's got this. He's got a vet presence to him, kind of an old soul mentality for a twenty two year old kid and

who's just got a ton of talent. He can play outside, he can play inside, and you can do the gadget stuff with him that that we've done. Um, he's awesome. And then you I'm moving to a v T, you know, making a transition from college tackle to to guard, and he had played some guard early on. We saw it and felt like that this guy's got gonna be a high level, starting level player with you know, potential for

honors down the road. He's a little more quiet and reserved out of the group in terms of personality wise, but he's he's always locked in. He's always business and and he comes ready and he's gonna play through a little small bumps and injuries and pushed through. I like. I like how they've developed like a strong bond that it's extends the field. It's off the field. You can

see it. Yeah, Actually ran into a couple of those guys at the out of NFL p A. They were out doing you know, some rookie stuff and and signing some cards, and they were in the same hotel the NFL play PA players were, And so you see it. It's like the zach and and E and MC walking together. Like the three amigos coming through the hotel and they had they were all beaming at smiles on their face and it's great to see them. So I know they're

getting together as a group. You know, the offensive skill guys and and a lot of the offensive players in general, whether it's offensive line trying to get together, but specifically the offensive skill guys are gonna spend time whether it's in Florida or California, which is huge too, to build that bond in the chemistry and the developed. So when you hear that, because they have to get that together on their own, you guys can't push them to do

that because that's the offseason rules. What's going on when you and Joe and company aren't hearing that, Hey, the guys are taking this upon themselves to get better. Yeah, that's when you see the growth. Man, you feel it, and you it makes you feel even better about the guys who you've identified number one as a player from that talent level. But when you've hit on the character as well, you know, that's when these guys are gonna take us to new Heights as an organization because the

bond that they've created together. Uh, speaking of New heights. Robert Salis said, expectations will be bigger for Zach Wilson in year two. You know that as well. But with that being said, he said, the process can't change right right, and you can't just you can't go from from A to C. You gotta go from hit A B before you get to see And a lot of times in the NFL, I think, especially when a quarterback gets taken

number two, you know, there's high expectations. We have them, he has them, the staff has them, and so you have to understand that for you as a quarterback coming into the league, it's not gonna be instant coffee. It's not gonna be like b y U where you're throwing

to two space. You know, the coverage is tighter, it's different to speed of the games different, And he's realized that, but he he wants to be so good and he wants to to get to that advanced level of of seeing the way Aaron Rodgers plays, and we go over those joint practices and he's spending that time talking to him and it's like he wants to jump from year one to year fourteen, like like Aaron's and it's like, hey, man, just just hey, it's gonna come, it's gonna come. Let's

take it in steps. Let's take every day. You're gonna continue to see the growth in yourself. So I should ask you who you're gonna take it for. No, I'm just getting about just in a very general sense, position groups. Where's the most steps in this class? Would you say I would think offensive line? Yeah, strong, strong offensive line group.

Defensive defensive line group is really strong this year, just and looking at those two from from a volume standpoint, and then man, the receivers yesterday, the way those dudes ran there that second group that you know unofficially they had ten guys who rans up four four. So I think that was an all time record for a group, uh, in terms of number of guys under four four. So you know that really really popped yesterday. And just seeing that and the way those guys ran and performed, that's wild.

How about sale using the term unicorn this unicorn this week talking about you got your premium positions. You at quarterback, you at cornerback, you got edge. But with that being said, if there is a guy so far above it one of these different positions than you, obviously consider taking them Yeah, it's hard. I mean, you want to call it a unicorn, you wanna call an outlier. But if there's a rare trait or a rare talent at a different position, obviously

it has to be something you're gonna consider. How do the interviews work? You get what here? We get forty five. You get twenty minutes for each one of them, but usually about two minutes of it is the transition of them going from sweet to sweet. So usually around eighteen the eighteen and a half minutes that they're actually in the seat in the room with you, what do you I know it's different for each guy, but what do you try to get done in that short amount of time?

Because over the years, these guys have been so prepped for what they're gonna face. Yeah, yeah, that they go through the process and just like the the on the field training that they're doing, that a lot of guys are getting the off field training and preparing for those moments. So you want to try and break it down to just see it. Hey, let's let's get past the pre pre ordered stuff. Let's let's go let's see how authentic

and genuine they are. Let's try and find out initially and quickly, what's our what drives them, what's our why, what's their what's their passion level, what's our love of the game, Because that's key, man, especially for the adversity that they're gonna face in the NFL and in a city like New York, and you know, the pressures and demands of being successful are huge, and they're gonna be on their shoulders. So you want to see how they handled that in the moment and try and get them

off their spot a little bit. Show him some plays where they might not have given as much effort or showed as much strain or desire to get to the ball, and ask them why, kind of find out what's in that's what's in their core of of who they are. You know, are they willing to take some accountability and you know, responsibility of hey man, I you know I didn't play to this level on that play because of

this and so. And let's be clear here the coaches are involved in these meetings because everybody's heard that Salah wasn't here, but he's part of these meetings, as are the position coaches. Yeah. Yeah, Microsoft teams is awesome. Our I T staff and Ryan O'Hare and our video staff did a great job of setting up everything from a communication standpoint. You know, the video is clear and got

it up on the big screen in there. The players are able to communicate directly with the if the coaches is back in Flora Park or Roberts on every call and Joe's Joe, Joe and I are are either in there or on the calls. So gives you a lot of flexibility with that. And the coaches coaches run you know, the film aspect of it and talking about the on the field play. How huge was it for you guys.

Not only is a personnel staff, but the coaches to be down there mobile for a full week with these guys, oh man, that the access to you know, there there's over a hundred players and and you get half of those on your roster for the week, so you get you get an opportunity to sit down and talk to him while while you're eating. You get to have meals with them. You you've got the position meetings with them,

You've got team meetings with them. So just the access and the ability to to talk to them, you know about life and kind of see who they are as a person and not only as a player that was was cool. It's the first time I've ever done it in the league. So obviously you don't want to be in that position again have coach in it, but for one time it was it was incredible, and uh, you got to peel the layers back on a lot of guys and see who they see, who they truly are.

What do you consider two here the next couple of months, the huge opportun only to continue building this foundation with the draft like you just hit after what we saw and Robert Sali's first UH season with the ammunition you guys have, is this a huge opportunity for this organization. Yeah,

you know every year is. But again, like you talked about the the financial flexibility that we have and then the draft capital and how we can we can change the course of the organization and how we can change the future is huge and it's exciting. And you know we talked about it. As a player of personnel staff man, you gotta wake up every day and just be excited about this that we've we've got a chance to change the Jets and change the culture and change our future.

And so we're all looking forward to No pressure on you man it considering look at what you guys did in two thousands twenty one. There was no combine last year, so watch out for two thousand twenty two. It was great catching up with you. Thank you so much. Absolutely appreciate it. Went but is not live in New Jersey, and they're bringing the excitement of Went Las Vegas to online sports betting, getting on all your favorite teams players that's warts from bloostep parlays to live in game odds

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twenty one the older at president in New Jersey. If you're someone you know has a gambling problem, called one two seven zero seven one one seven