Mike Maccagnan's job is to pick the BQBA -- best quarterback available. If it were only that simple.

The best quarterback now may not be the best in a year or two, and that adds a wrinkle to the evaluation process. It's especially true with the New York Jets, who have reached a crossroads in their rebuilding project.

Will the general manager pick the quarterback that gives coach Todd Bowles the best chance to win in 2018, or will Maccagnan make the selection with an eye on 2019 and beyond?

If you believe the two men are joined at the hip -- in fact, they're both signed through 2020 -- the question needs to be rephrased: Will Maccagnan pick the guy that gives them the best chance in 2018, or does he focus on the future?

It's a valid question because the consensus on this quarterback class is that Baker Mayfield and Josh Rosen are close to being pro-ready, while Josh Allen and Sam Darnold may need a "redshirt" year to develop.

A first-round pick on the bench doesn't help them win games, and this regime needs to start winning more than it did the past two years -- 10-22.

"I think our focus is ideally to find the quarterback -- or player -- that we feel is the best one in terms of the short- and long-term," Maccagnan said Monday. "Todd has always said, when a guy is ready to play, he's going to play him. What you try to do is balance potential return versus potential risk. That's the tricky part, especially with college versus pro."

Maccagnan picks the players, Bowles picks the lineup. That's how it's done at One Jets Drive; it's an arrangement with inherent challenges. This much we know about Bowles: He won't rush a young player into the lineup for the sake of evaluating for the future.

Exhibit A: Christian Hackenberg.

If Bowles winds up with Allen or Darnold, the most inexperienced quarterbacks among the Big Four, it could be a long, frustrating year for the fan base because it will be pining for the kid to play. Chances are, it would be a year of Josh McCown and Teddy Bridgewater. If the pick is Mayfield or Rosen, Bowles might be more apt to go with a rookie.

This complicates the decision. Quarterbacks develop at different rates. Allen, a raw talent with outstanding tools, may need two or three years to reach his potential. If he gets there, hardly a guarantee, he could be the star of the class. Darnold, too, has intriguing upside, but he started only 24 games in college and got into a turnover funk last season.

Could the current Jets regime afford to wait for them to blossom?

ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. loves Allen's potential, in particular, but he believes Rosen is the most pro-ready prospect in the class "because of the intelligence and the offense he came out of -- three-, five- and seven-step drops. ... He’d be right there with the elite [over the past 30 years] in terms of how cerebral, how smart and how quickly he processes everything. He can pick up a playbook and knows everything that everybody is supposed to be doing."

Mayfield comes from a spread offense, which typically means a transition period, but many talent evaluators believe he can overcome that obstacle because of his high football IQ. Plus, he started 46 games in college, a huge benefit.

"We like him as a player like we like some of the other quarterbacks,” Maccagnan said. “He’s got some very good skills both ability-wise and from an intangible standpoint.”

Maccagnan was hesitant to comment on any of the quarterbacks or any facets of the quarterback decision. He wouldn't even discuss the importance of hand size. (We're not kidding.) At one point, he joked, "I know everybody seems to be locked in on [a quarterback]. I don't know why. We may actually take a safety this year."

Funny.

"You just want to get it right," he said.