Everything on the line up front this season

THE MOST dominant Jets narrative since the 2019 NFL season ended has been about how 2020 needs to be Sam Darnold’s time to finally elevate his game and those of his teammates around him.

The Jets quarterback is entering his third season and, for the first time, his second consecutive year with the same head coach and offensive system. If the thirdoverall pick in the 2018 draft isn’t going to make the kind of leap a third-overall pick needs to make, then does it become fair to wonder if it’s ever going to happen?

Here’s the rub, though: Without players around any quarterback — specifically a sound offensive line to protect him — how can anyone expect him to flourish?

For his first two seasons, Darnold has not had enough protection in front of him or offensive weapons around him to succeed.

That, the Jets and every single one of their success-starved fans hope, should be different this season — largely because of their aggressive makeover of the offensive line, with four new starters expected by the start of the season.

In a frenetic six-day span at the start of free agency in March, general manager Joe Douglas ripped apart the offensive line at its foundation and started over.

Douglas’ first order of business was signing 6-foot-6, 325-pound tackle George Fant on March 16. A day later, former Broncos center Connor McGovern was signed and so, too, was former Panthers guard Greg Van Roten. Then they resigned guard Alex Lewis, who figures to be the only returning starter.

The final piece to the grand rebuild came with the 11th-overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, when Louisville tackle Mekhi Becton was selected.

So, the shopping has been done. Now comes the hard part: Getting all of these new pieces to fit together well enough so that Darnold is properly protected and running back Le’Veon Bell never averages 3.2 yards per carry again as he did last season.

Complicating that challenge of piecing together that puzzle for Jets coach Adam Gase and his offensive line assistant Frank Pollack is navigating through the COVID-19 restrictions that prevent the players from being around each other in offseason programs.

Sure, every team in the league faces the same restrictions and challenges, but not every team in the NFL is planning on four new starters on its offensive line.

It’s difficult and delicate enough for a new offensive line to jell under normal circumstances that include an offseason program, minicamp and OTAs. Consider that these four new Jets starters have not yet met each other and won’t until who knows when.

“Everybody is dealing with this situation together,’’ Fant said on a Zoom call with reporters Thursday. “We’ve got to find a way to make it work and keep working. It’s very challenging. Offensive line play is all about being together and being on one page, and we’ve got kind of a whole new room. We’re doing everything virtually right now. We’re talking, getting to know each other.

“But it’s not really going to set in until we all get together and figure out each other’s personalities, get on the field together, get on the grass and figure out how each other plays.’’

Whenever that does happen, the first order of business for Pollack is deciding which sides Becton and Fant will play.

Becton started 21 of his final 23 games at Louisville at left tackle, though he did play on the right side his freshman year. Fant has made it clear be believes he’s best suited to play left tackle, though he, too, has played both sides.

A common denominator to the Jets’ two new bookend tackles lies in their respective raw talent.

Becton is just 21 years old with three years of college under his sizeable belt.

Though he’s been in the NFL for three seasons, Fant is new to the game, having played just one year of college football as a tight end at Western Kentucky after completing his college basketball career there. When Fant got to Seattle he was converted to tackle, but has started just 24 of his 46 games in the league, including seven in each of the past two seasons.

So, both are developmental players, though with significant upsides.

“I think the good things about both of us is we’re really raw and really athletic,’’ Fant said.

Fant went as far as to say he believes he’s “capable’’ of reaching an “All-Pro level,’’ adding, “I’ve just got to go out and prove it now. I feel like this is just the beginning for me.’’

The Jets need the new beginnings for Fant, Becton and their entire new offensive line to help lead to the beginning of stardom for Darnold. Otherwise, something has gone terribly wrong.