5 SPOTS TO WATCH

Some position battles to look out for at Jets minicamp

The Jets kick off their mandato- ry three-day minicamp Tuesday with a litany of questions at several pivotal positions. There are plenty of vacancies that need to be filled for a team in full-fledged rebuilding mode. Although Todd Bowles won’t be handing out starting jobs by the end of the week, he will get one final look at some of the important position battles before the NFL goes dark for the five weeks before the start of training camp.

It’ll be a lot of players’ final chance to leave a favorable impression with the team brain trust before things kick into high gear when players return in late July.

Here are five key position battles to keep an eye on this week for Gang Green:

QUARTERBACK

Do you already have Sam Darnold fatigue? Well, too bad. This is only the beginning, folks. The Jets want to take a good hard look at the No. 3 overall pick this spring and summer before determining whether they can hand over the keys to the kingdom to him. By all accounts, Darnold is making necessary strides. This quarterback competition isn’t Darnold vs Josh McCown vs Teddy Bridgewater. It’s Darnold vs Darnold. If the rookie proves to Bowles and offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates that he’s ready to handle the rigors of the starting gig, he’ll be under center in Week 1. None of that, of course, will be determined this week, but the team brass would like Darnold to continue to trend in the right direction.

“He is just more comfortable with the playbook,” Bowles said of the growth that he’s seen from Darnold. “Obviously, seeing things a couple times will make you more comfortable. Just hard work and everything we thought coming in. (He’s) going to work every day, wants to be good, understands the mistakes he makes. He works at them night and day, watches film, asks questions and, at this time of the year, that is what he is supposed to be doing and that’s what he is doing.”

“He retains things when you tell him,” Bowles added. “When he makes a mistake, he doesn’t make the same one twice. So, he is very good from that standpoint as far as retaining information.”

Bridgewater has looked solid this spring, but his true test won’t come until he gets hit in the preseason.

WIDE RECEIVER

Mike Maccagnan and Bowles threw as many darts at the pass-catching board as humanly possible hoping that a few of them stick. We won’t get a look at Terrelle Pryor, who’ll be in a walking boot after suffering a foot/ankle injury this offseason, but there will be plenty of other wideouts looking to make a favorable impression this week.

Second-year player Chad Hansen. has flashed in OTAs. “He has more confidence as far as understanding what he’s doing and not thinking while he is running,” Bowles said. “So he’s playing faster.”

Don’t’ forget about ArDarius Stewart, whose confidence is high despite a quiet rookie campaign. Jermaine Kearse, the team’s leader in receptions in 2017, aims to remind everyone that he can pick up where he left off last year.

Devin Smith (knee) and Quincy Enunwa (neck) will have to wait until training camp to make any noise.

TIGHT END

Austin Seferian-Jenkins’ departure to Jacksonville in free agency created an opportunity for someone in Gang Green’s tight end room to grab a job. Who will seize it? The smart money is on fourth-round rookie Chris Herndon or second-year player Jordan Leggett, a de facto rookie after missing all of last season with a knee injury. Herndon’s DWI arrest last week will almost certainly result in league discipline, but he’s been impressive this spring. Herndon, in fact, was catching passes left and right in OTAs a few days after his arrest. He appears nearly fully recovered from his torn MCL suffered late in his final season at the University of Miami.

Leggett, a 2017 fifth-rounder, has high expectations after a knee issue in the preseason cost him his rookie campaign. It should be a fun battle between the two young tight ends.

OUTSIDE LINEBACKER

We’ll get a much clearer picture of this competition in the preseason, but Lorenzo Mauldin, who missed last season with a back injury, will have one final chance to prove that he can be the answer to a maddening problem for this team.

“He is understanding the defense better,” Bowles said. “The biggest thing is he is healthy. So, we just hope he keeps progressing forward and we will see when the pads come on… Obviously, he is healthy and getting back into football form. We want to see him make plays.”

Mauldin will have to fend off Josh Martin, who did a nice job last season in nine starts, David Bass and Dylan Donahue. Free-agent signing Brandon Copeland, who logged most of his time on special teams with the Lions in 2015 and 2016, flashed during OTAs.

Keep an eye on Jordan Jenkins, who didn’t take part in any team drills in OTAs. The Daily News reported last week that Jenkins, who has started 30 consecutive games, is dealing with a shoulder injury that is causing discomfort/pain and could jeopardize his availability at the start of training camp. Bowles was noncommittal last week about whether Jenkins would be a full-go when players report at the end of July.

KICKER

Kickers are people, too. For a team that has a dearth of offensive weaponry, a good kicker will be invaluable. Veteran Cairo Santos should have a sizeable advantage over undrafted rookie Taylor Bertolet, but you never truly know with kickers. Heck, Chandler Catanzaro bolted for Tampa in free agency because he hated kicking in the cold. So, you never know. Santos, who has 107 career field-goal attempts in 53 games, only signed a one-year, $2 million deal with a $500,000 signing bonus, so it’s not as if the Jets would have any problem cutting him if he underperformed this summer. Bertolet went to Texas A&M, but he’s from Reading, Pa, so the cold weather won’t scare him.

Kicking competitions are ultimately won or lost in the preseason, but it’s worth monitoring this week.