FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- The New York Jets called an aggressive audible by trading up to the No. 3 pick last month to assure themselves of getting one of the top quarterbacks available in the NFL Draft.
Now comes the toughest play call of all.
Sam Darnold? Baker Mayfield? Josh Rosen? Josh Allen?
"You just want to get it right," General Manager Mike Maccagnan said.
And, the pressure is certainly on.
After all, this is a team that has been starving for a franchise quarterback since the days of Joe Namath. The likes of Richard Todd, Ken O'Brien, Chad Pennington and Mark Sanchez had some good moments as homegrown quarterbacks, but none had the type of impact or sustained success of Namath.
Since Namath's last game with the Jets in 1976, the team has had 30 players make at least one start under center. On Thursday night, New York has the opportunity to add a quarterback who might stop the revolving door.
That's why the Jets were willing to deal the No. 6 overall pick to Indianapolis along with two second-round selections this year and a second-rounder next year to move up three spots.
"It's all about opportunity," Maccagnan said. "We felt good about where we were originally picking and then we made the trade and moved ourselves to position ourselves, in our mind, to be in a position to have a good option and a good choice with that spot."
New York's ultimate decision, however, will be contingent upon what Cleveland -- which also needs a quarterback -- does at No. 1 overall, and if the Giants stay put at No. 2 and pick a successor to Eli Manning or target another position.
That dynamic at the top of the draft, along with the lack of a consensus order among the top quarterbacks, has created lots of intrigue and made mock drafts an always-changing mix-and-match mess.
"When they made that move [the trade], that was before the owners' meeting, which is very unusual," said former Dallas vice president of player personnel Gil Brandt, currently a draft analyst for NFL.com and SiriusXM NFL Radio.
"That led me to believe that he and his staff were ready to roll in terms of these quarterbacks in the middle of March, regardless of which one winds up at No. 3."
Maccagnan wouldn't tip his hand on how the Jets are leaning -- and wouldn't even acknowledge that quarterback will be the way they'll go with their first pick.
But it seems clear that either USC's Darnold, Oklahoma's Mayfield, UCLA's Rosen or Wyoming's Allen will be wearing green and white sometime Thursday night.
"I know everybody seems to be locked in on that, I don't know why," a smiling Maccagnan said of the quarterback-to-Jets speculation. "We actually may take a safety this year. ... I think like everything else, the quarterback is such an important position that it's always going to be a focal point of that this may be a position of interest, especially for us.
"But, yeah, we'll see how it plays itself out."
If the Jets do go after a quarterback, they'll have five on their roster. They re-signed Josh McCown, the starter last year, in the offseason; signed Teddy Bridgewater, who's still coming back from a severe knee injury nearly two years ago; and have holdovers Bryce Petty and Christian Hackenberg.
Petty was a fourth-rounder in 2015, while Hackenberg went in the second round in 2016. Both players' spots on the roster are tenuous, at best.
BUSY OFFSEASON
Maccagnan went into free agency armed with about $90 million in salary cap space and he certainly made use of it while revamping the Jets' roster.
New York signed 16 players in free agency, including cornerback Trumaine Johnson (five years, $72.5 million), running back Isaiah Crowell (three years, $12 million), linebacker Avery Williamson (three years, $22.5 million) and wide receiver Terrelle Pryor (one year, $4.5 million).
The Jets also re-signed seven of their unrestricted free agents, including McCown (one year, $10 million), cornerback Morris Claiborne (one year, $7 million) and defensive lineman Mike Pennel (three years, $12 million).
MOVES TO MAKE
New York doesn't have a second-round selection this year, but has one pick in each of the five remaining rounds.
A pass-rushing outside linebacker or defensive end could be near the top of the draft board, particularly after cutting Muhammad Wilkerson.
Depth on both the defensive and offensive lines figure to be targets for New York in the later rounds, as well as possibly tight end, running back and cornerback.
NFL Draft
WHEN Thursday-Saturday
WHERE AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas
COVERAGE
All times Central
THURSDAY Round 1, 7 p.m. (NFL Network, ESPN, ESPN2, Fox)
FRIDAY Rounds 2-3, 6 p.m. (NFL Network, ESPN, ESPN2, Fox)
SATURDAY Rounds 4-7, 11 a.m. (NFL Network, ABC, ESPN)
Sports on 04/25/2018