Improved Jets eager to take that next step

The Jets will open training camp on Wednesday with expectations.

It’s been some time since that has happened. But with Robert Saleh in his second season as coach, Zach Wilson ready for Year 2 as the quarterback and an offseason of roster-building, big strides are expected for a team that won only four games last season.

“This team, this locker room, is not short of people who want to work hard, who love ball and work their absolute tails off,” Saleh said.

That work and the desire to end the franchise’s 11-year playoff drought should lead to some better results this season. It also helps that the returning Jets are more familiar with the system and that the talent has been upgraded throughout the roster.

General manager Joe Douglas, who has assembled teams that went 6-27 the past two seasons, has been consumed with bringing in the right players to make the Jets more competitive. He had a good offseason, strengthening and addressing needs at many positions.

Douglas also had the Jets involved in trade talks for wide receiver Tyreek Hill, who chose Miami over the Jets. He still has the flexibility and assets to make a big move if another marquee talent becomes available.

The Jets added Pro Bowl left guard Laken Tomlinson and tight ends C.J. Uzomah and Tyler Conklin in free agency as well as cornerback D.J. Reed and safety Jordan Whitehead.

Douglas drafted three players in the first round who should make immediate impacts: cornerback Sauce Gardner, receiver Garrett Wilson and edge rusher Jermaine Johnson.

The Jets are banking on second-round pick Breece Hall to be a playmaker at running back and third-round pick Jeremy Ruckert, the tight end from Lindenhurst, to be a big asset in the running game and as a pass-catcher.

With veterans reporting on Tuesday, the biggest questions for the Jets concern offensive tackle Mekhi Becton’s health and conditioning, edge rusher Carl Lawson’s return from a serious injury and whether Zach Wilson is ready to take a big step after what Saleh called “a rough rookie year.”

Becton fractured his kneecap in Week 1 and never returned. His weight, which reportedly ballooned over 400 pounds, became a cause for concern. He will start camp on the physically unable to perform list, but he has been training at the Jets’ facility and he did appear to have shed some weight in a recent photo posted on social media.

If Becton is physically and mentally right, he could be a game-changer on the offensive line in what could be a make-or-break season for the third-year tackle.

Lawson, the Jets’ big free-agent signing in 2021, is coming back from a ruptured Achilles, an injury he suffered during last year’s training camp after dominating in practice. Lawson is starting out on the PUP list, but the Jets can’t wait to unleash him this season and see if he can wreak havoc on quarterbacks.

The Jets believe their own quarterback will start showing why they took Wilson with the second overall pick last year.

Wilson got stronger during the offseason and dived into learning the ins and outs of offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur’s system. He also worked out with his skill players away from the facility to build chemistry with them on and off the field.

Douglas has continued to upgrade the offensive line to protect Wilson better and has gotten him more weapons.

“They’ve done a great job,” Wilson said. “You can tell the organization cares. They want to win just as badly as all of us. They’re doing everything they can just to put me in the best position and everybody else around me.

“They’re giving me the ability to just say, ‘I’m going to give this guy a shot right here. I’m going to let him win and hang on him and give him the ball just like we drafted him to be able to do.’

“We definitely have those guys. We definitely have the guys up front as well. We just need to put it all together.”

By Al Iannazzone

al.iannazzone@newsday.comAl_Iannazzone

Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.