FLORHAM PARK -- John Morton has to know what he'll ultimately be graded on this season. The points per game his offense averages are a nice stat, but his ability -- or inability -- to develop Jets' second-year quarterback Christian Hackenberg is the true test.

Through 12 camp practices and one preseason game, Morton is impressed with his young signal caller. There's just one caveat ...

"Basically, he's a rookie," the first-year offensive coordinator said Tuesday.

Hackenberg, obviously, isn't a rookie. But it's easy to understand where Morton's coming from. The Jets took a rather unique approach with their hopeful franchise quarterback last season.

They, well, they didn't play him.

Behind Ryan Fitzpatrick, Geno Smith and Bryce Petty to start the year, Hackenberg watched ... and watched ... and watched. He received scraps of reps in training camp, and was buried on the depth chart throughout the regular season. The Jets eventually elevated him to No. 2., but only because Smith and Petty suffered season-ending injuries. He never stepped on the field in a game.

This year is different. The Jets are giving Hackenberg an abundance of reps in camp, including several with the first team. And he's doing some good things. In 12 practices, he has (unofficially) five touchdowns and just four interceptions. The interceptions came in two practices.

"I like how he's taking care of the ball," Morton said. "I think he's done a really good job there. We're still in the evaluation process, but he gets better every day."

In the Jets' 7-3 victory over the Titans to open the preseason, Hackenberg completed 18 of 25 passes (72 percent) and threw for 127 yards. He did fumble once, but it didn't appear to be his fault. Backup center Jonotthan Harrison seemed to snap the ball before Hackenberg was ready.

Hackenberg rarely put the ball in harm's way. Just once -- an overthrow to receiver Frankie Hammond up the right sideline -- did he truly misfire. But, then again, it appeared coaches called an awfully conservative game. Hackenberg averaged just 5.1 yards per attempt.

Morton saw things differently.

"We're still in training camp mode," Morton said. "We had plays. We called plays where we were taking shots. If it isn't there, we check the ball down. It just happened to be in those certain situations -- whatever the situation was, whether we were getting pressure or anything like that -- he has to go through his progressions. I thought he did a really nice job of doing that."

The Jets unofficial depth chart is seemingly set. Veteran Josh McCown is the starter, followed by Hackenberg, then Bryce Petty. McCown impressed against the Titans, too. In his lone drive, he marched the Jets 78 yards in eight plays, and capped it with a four-yard touchdown pass to receiver Charone Peake.

But McCown turned 38 this month. Hackenberg, at 22, is the franchise's potential future.

At what point will the future become the present?

"I think that's too early to tell," Morton said. "Again, we're just in training camp mode. We've got to play a couple more preseason games, and then we'll have a better feel to see where we're at.

"It's a whole different story once you get into a game to evaluate guys. That's the real evaluation."

Connor Hughes may be reached at chughes@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @Connor_J_Hughes. Find NJ.com Jets on Facebook.