The New York Jets landed a franchise quarterback in Sam Darnold with the third pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, but if comedy legend Larry David had his way, the Jets would have selected runaway MVP favorite Lamar Jackson in 2018. Jackson, the 2016 Heisman Trophy winner, fell to No. 32 and was the last pick in the first round by the Baltimore Ravens, but he wasn’t generally regarded as a top QB prospect in a loaded class led by Baker Mayfield, Darnold, Josh Allen and Josh Rosen.
In an appearance on The Michael Kay Show, David said that he called Jets GM Mike Maccagnan prior to the 2018 NFL Draft and told him to select Jackson. According to David, Maccagnan laughed at him.
Before the 2018 NFL Draft, Larry David tried to tell then-Jets GM Mike Maccagnan to draft Lamar Jackson.
“He laughed at me, but who can blame him? Nobody thought Jackson was gonna be good.” (H/T @TMKSonYES) pic.twitter.com/1Jcn2VRLvV
— Jeff Eisenband (@JeffEisenband) January 8, 2020
Larry David: “I did call [then Jets GM] Mike Maccagnan before the 2018 draft, and I recommended that he draft Lamar Jackson. I have a witness.”
Michael Kay: “Really! And what did he say to you when you said that?”
Larry David: “He kind of gave me the most condescending….. I told him that and he kind of laughed. He laughed at me, but who can blame him? Nobody thought Jackson was going to be this good.”
Maccagnan, of course, went on to lose his job a few weeks after the 2019 NFL Draft.
David also shared his very unique thoughts on current Jets coach Adam Gase.
“I can’t take the hat. I can’t take a coach wearing a hat constantly. It tells me that there’s something about him, he’s not comfortable with himself! When I started doing stand-up I wasn’t comfortable, and I started putting a hat on, because it gave me like a different persona, a different character, because I was hiding. That’s what he’s doing. He’s hiding. Either he’s hiding baldness or there’s something about his personality that he’s uncomfortable with.”
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