NFL

Florida State QB Manuel on Jets’ 1st-round radar

That wasn’t crazy talk from E.J. Manuel Wednesday, and the Florida State quarterback wasn’t talking about the second round.

Manuel told Dan Patrick’s radio show he feels “really good” about his chances of going to the Jets, Eagles or Bills next Thursday night. It’s an assessment that suddenly doesn’t seem outlandish, even though that would make him a top-nine pick.

Don’t count out the Browns at No. 6, either. Shortly after that interview, Cleveland — whose new regime isn’t sold on Brandon Weeden — revealed it will hold a private workout with Manuel on Saturday in Tallahassee.

It’s all shaping up to be the culmination of a meteoric rise for the 6-foot-5, 237-pound Manuel — and a potentially embarrassing fall for West Virginia’s Geno Smith, who until recently was deemed a lock to be the first pick from an otherwise extremely weak quarterback class.

Smith’s fall isn’t as bad as the one suffered by USC’s Matt Barkley, who was being talked about last fall as the potential No. 1 overall pick, but now might not go until the second or third round because of rising concern about his shoulder and arm strength.

But as scouts pore over Smith’s offseason workouts and take an even closer look at last season (when the Mountaineers finished 7-6 after a 5-0 start), Manuel is looking sexier to teams willing to gamble on a quarterback in the first round, despite a seemingly terrible year for the position.

There’s plenty to like. Manuel is big, athletic and accurate, completing 68 percent of his passes last season and no worse than 65 percent in any of his four seasons with the Seminoles. Manuel also was 25-6 as a starter, the MVP of the Senior Bowl and is considered the only draftable quarterback this year with the natural ability to run the read-option offense now suddenly in vogue in the NFL.

Next Thursday night will tell if all the sudden interest in Manuel as a high first-rounder is a smoke screen or the real thing.

* Like Smith, Luke Joeckel’s stock also appears to be suffering the longer scouts eyeball his tape and offseason work.

The Texas A&M offensive tackle has long been considered the likely No. 1 overall pick by the Chiefs, but there are rumblings Andy Reid is now more enamored with Central Michigan’s Eric Fisher because Fisher is considered a better run blocker.

That reasoning seems dubious, considering how fond Reid is of the forward pass. Reid also has been openly eager to trade down and might be trying to see if he still can get Joeckel at No. 5 by swapping with the Lions, who like Fisher.

Indeed, there is plenty for everyone to like about 6-7, 306-pound Fisher, who sent his stock soaring with a dominant performance during the Senior Bowl practices and game. The Saints also are thought to be high on Vaccaro at No. 15, so Miami’s visit might have been aimed at New Orleans, too

* Teams are usually reluctant to use a top-20 pick on a safety, mainly because it’s not a high-impact position, but Texas’ Kenny Vaccaro is challenging that line of thought. this year.

A big-hitting free safety with extensive experience in coverage, Vaccaro caused a stir among draft-watchers this week by making an official visit to the Dolphins sitting at No. 12 overall.

The Cowboys are known to be strongly interested in Vaccaro at No. 18, so Miami might be trying to lure Dallas because the Dolphins know how Jerry Jones likes to trade up.

bhubbuch@nypost.com