#Sam Darnold is tantalizingly close to making the leap Jets’ season rides on

No. 3: Sam Darnold

Last year’s ranking: 5

Position: QB

Age on Opening Day: 23

How acquired: Selected in the first round of the 2018 Draft

Years left on contract: 2 (plus a team option)

2020 Salary Cap figure: $8.3 million

Looking back at 2019

Darnold’s second season got off to a rough start when he was diagnosed with mononucleosis after the first game of the season. He would miss the next three games and the absence set him back.

Darnold ended up starting 13 games. The Jets were 7-6 with him as the starter. He completed 61.9 percent of his passes for 3,024 yards, 19 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. He had a QB rating of 84.3. Protection was a major issue as he was sacked 33 times.

It was Darnold’s first season with coach Adam Gase. It took about half the season for the two of them to truly learn each other and figure out what worked best, a process that was slowed by Darnold’s illness.

After a rough stretch in October, including a nightmare Monday Night game against the Patriots where he saw “ghosts” and threw four interceptions, Darnold played better in November before a slight decline in December.

In the final eight games, Darnold had 13 touchdowns and four interceptions after throwing six touchdowns and nine interceptions in his first five games.

The analytics crowd has been rough on Darnold. PFF graded him 31st out of 37 quarterbacks who qualified.

Darnold showed toughness last season. Besides the mono, he also dealt with thumb, knee and ribs injuries that he played through.

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Outlook for 2020

The biggest question about the Jets season is how much progress Darnold can make from Year 2 to Year 3. If he makes a leap into being in the top half of quarterbacks in the league, the Jets should be much better. If he shows the inconsistencies of the last two years again, the Jets are looking at another losing season.

No pressure, kid.

The Jets are hopeful that Darnold can stay healthy for 16 games for the first time and that he will prosper in his second season under Gase. He played much better in the second half of the season after a sitdown with Gase where they tailored the offense more to his liking.

Darnold has shown glimpses of what made the Jets believe he was worth the No. 3 overall pick in 2018. But they have not come with enough frequency for anyone to believe without a doubt that he will be an elite quarterback.

The Jets rebuilt the offensive line this offseason with Darnold in mind. He had a 58.5 QB rating when under pressure last year, per PFF. That was down from 99.6 with no pressure. There were games when he was running for his life.

That being said, Darnold also bears some blame for the 33 sacks he took last year. He took 2.75 seconds on average to throw (thanks PFF), one of the worst averages in the league. His pre-snap recognition must improve. The Patriots game stands out last year as one where he looked like he could not recognize the blitzes New England was throwing at him.

Darnold has said he has worked on his deep passing this offseason, too. He was 15-of-51 on deep passes with five touchdowns and three interceptions. Gase’s offense does not call for a ton of deep balls, but Darnold needs to hit at a higher frequency, particularly with the speed of Breshad Perriman and Denzel Mims on the outside.