GM can’t play safe, must go all in for QB

Goff as a future franchise changer.

The Eagles were a bit more creative to land NFL MVP front-runner Carson Wentz. Philly initially moved from No. 13 to No. 8 by trading starting cornerback Byron Maxwell and linebacker Kiko Alonso to Miami. Then, general manager Howie Roseman gave the Browns two first-rounders (2016 and 2017), a second-rounder (2018), third-rounder (2016) and fourthrounder (2016) to move from No. 8 to No. 2.

Something tells me the Rams and Eagles are happy with their investments. Goff and Wentz, after all, are the point men for the NFL’s two highest-scoring offenses through nine weeks.

The Jets would pick 14th in the first round if the draft were today, so Maccagnan likely will have to get out of his comfort zone to strike gold.

The downside: The move could backfire like it did for Washington when they went all-in for Robert Griffin III in 2012. Washington, however, suffered only two miserable seasons (2013 and 2014) before returning to the playoffs.

Although Maccagnan said Wednesday that he “(doesn’t) want to sit here and speculate” about whether the long-term answer at quarterback currently is on the roster, it’s become abundantly clear that the organization’s decision makers simply don’t believe that Bryce Petty or Christian Hackenberg will solve their most maddening problem. The team’s thinking: Maccagnan took a couple low-risk stabs at young signal callers with fourth- and second-round investments, so the fallout is relatively minimal.

Jets brass explored trading up for Jameis Winston, Marcus Mariota and Goff (while dangling Muhammad Wilkerson as part of a package in the previous two drafts, but it was cost prohibitive in their estimation.

Maccagnan wasn’t ready to mortgage the future at that time for a quarterback given the lack of a solid young foundation. The thinking was simple: We’re so far off from competing that it makes more sense to improve other deficient areas rather than go all-in for a signal caller. Besides, were the Buccaneers and Titans ever really going to trade away their shot at franchise quarterbacks in 2015?

The Daily News reported last week that there were people in the Jets organization who wanted to trade back into the first round of last year’s draft for Clemson QB Deshaun Watson. Some were willing to trade Wilkerson, too. The Jets, however, ultimately never made an offer for a guy who was leading the NFL in touchdown passes before suffering a season-ending knee injury in practice last week.

“I feel very good about the players and decisions we made,” Maccagnan said Wednesday. “Deshaun was doing a very good job for Houston… But again, from our standpoint… you don’t go back and play the what-if game.”

The landscape, however, has changed now for the Jets, who appear further along in their rebuild than many expected. Todd Bowles re-made his coaching staff to help a team that could be .500 entering their Week 11 bye. A formidable young core is taking shape. The team culture is changing.

Maccagnan doesn’t have a lifetime appointment to find his franchise quarterback, either. It’s time to make an aggressive — but not reckless — play to get his man.

There are enough people in the NFL scouting community who believe this will be a quarterback-rich draft. There is real opportunity for a team like the Jets to land a difference maker at QB.

Maccagnan must part with premium draft picks, though. Lots of them.

But it’s a risk worth taking.