Peyton Manning Should Be New York Jets' First Priority This Offseason

All the things the New York Jets need to fix, and the one thing being neglected is the most important. It's at quarterback, and yes, I am ready to give up on Mark Sanchez.

But for who? Peyton Manning, of course. Sounds bizarre, but with the Indianapolis Colts set to pick Andrew Luck first overall, Manning's future with the organization remains in doubt. On top of that, so does his health.

The Colts now find themselves in a great position, having their quarterback of the future waiting to be drafted while having arguably the greatest quarterback in NFL history on the sidelines at the same time. I don't care what anyone says, if Manning is healthy, there are few better than he.

Don't forget to throw in the fact that the firing of the Polians was a great disappointment and shock for the Hall of Fame quarterback. It was Bill Polian who drafted Manning in 1998.

In my opinion, the writing is already on the wall that there's a changing of the guard in Indianapolis and that creates a realistic scenario for a trade.

This creates an extremely intriguing problem for the Jets. With Mark Sanchez three years in without much improvement, does New York want to take the chance to pounce on an all-time great in Manning? Do they want a shot to have a signal-caller who led his former franchise to two Super Bowls?

Rex Ryan would be lying through his teeth if he told you he wouldn't take Manning, in any condition, over his current quarterback Sanchez. Clearly, there's no comparison, on his worst day, Manning can outplay Sanchez, and that's a fact (in my opinion, at least).

I know what Ryan has said about keeping Sanchez behind center as long as he's head coach, but he's certainly been wrong before, and we all wouldn't be surprised if he was wrong once again.

Manning presents a unique opportunity to be an instant Super Bowl contender and not the variety that Ryan dreams up in his prediction-filled head.

Risky or not, it's still a better chance of success than most teams will have in any given NFL season. And it certainly couldn't end up worse than the 2011-12 season did.

It's time to start getting the chips together and make a move for Manning. That mid first-rounder that the playoff-less Jets have would be a nice starting point.