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          NFL Nation

          Jets must be willing to trade up for quarterback, perhaps to top of draft

          • Rich Cimini, ESPN Staff WriterMar 17, 2018, 11:00 AM
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              Rich Cimini is a staff writer who covers the New York Jets and the NFL at ESPN. Rich has covered the Jets for over 30 years, joining ESPN in 2010. Rich also hosts the Flight Deck podcast. He previously was a beat writer for the New York Daily News and is a graduate of Syracuse University. You can follow him via Twitter @RichCimini.
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          After a two-week hiatus, the New York Jets mailbag is back. Let's talk quarterbacks:

          @RichCimini: Steven, I can answer that in one word: Absolutely. The Jets' current situation demands that he be proactive. Josh McCown and Teddy Bridgewater are Band-Aids -- one and done -- so Maccagnan needs to address 2019 and beyond. The only quarterback under contract for more than one year is Christian Hackenberg, and we know he's not the future.

          It wouldn't surprise me if quarterbacks get drafted in the first, second and third spots, with the Colts dealing their pick to a quarterback-needy team. If the Jets stay put at No. 6, they'd be taking a huge gamble. Would they be happy with the fourth quarterback off the board? What if the top four are gone and they're left in the cold? It's too risky to stay in the same place and wait for the draft to come to them.

          Now there's a new variable: The Broncos, once thought to be a lock to take a quarterback with the fifth pick, gave Case Keenum a fully guaranteed $25 million over two years, which muddies the waters. The size of that guarantee suggests he'll be their starter for two years, but does the money preclude them from drafting a quarterback with the fifth pick? Good question.

          It wouldn't surprise me if Maccagnan explores the possibility of trading up to No. 1. Two years ago, in the Jared Goff-Carson Wentz draft, he acknowledged that he looked into trading up to the top. He didn't have the ammo to make the giant leap, but now he has the sixth pick and two second-rounders. To get to No. 1, he'd probably have to include his 2019 first rounder in the package. I'm not sure he'd be willing to do that, but I bet he makes a call to check into it.

          He must come out of this draft with a quarterback ... and he will. Whether it's the right quarterback is another story.