Is AFC East now open for taking?

New York Jets quarterback Sam Darnold isn’t overlooking the NFL’s Evil Empire this season, even if its supreme leader is gone.

There’s no denying that Tom Brady’s divorce from the New England Patriots jolted the AFC East, but Darnold isn’t taking anything for granted just because the avocado-eating, Acai-smoothie-drinking future Hall of Fame quarterback is out of the picture.

“With a great player like Tom Brady, obviously leaving is a big deal,” Darnold said Tuesday. “It’s headlines. For us, every single game in the NFL is a tough one and I think any player can attest to that. So we’re not going to take anyone more lightly even though one of the greatest players — if not the greatest player — of all time left the organization. We’re not going to take them any more lightly.” Let’s get real for a moment. Jarrett Stidham isn’t scaring anyone, but Bill Belichick still instills fear from underneath his hoodie. The Patriots are expected to have a formidable defense despite some notable defections, so it’d be foolish to look past the rulers of this division for the past two decades.

Sure, Brady was the straw that stirred the drink in Foxborough, but the severely dented Empire isn’t going to be a pushover as long as the greatest football coach ever is still on the sideline.

The Jets have a great opportunity to break their nine-year playoff drought with Brady out of the way. The Patriots have won 16 of the past 19 division titles, including 11 in a row, but the expanded playoff format coupled with the quarterback unknown in New England is enough to make the Jets, Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins dream of the immediate possibilities. Buffalo is the best team on paper. The Dolphins are the most improved team on paper.

But titles aren’t won on paper. Jets General Manager Joe Douglas overhauled the offensive line and added a few skill-position pieces for Darnold. So should playoffs be the expectations for Gang Green in 2020?

“We definitely have the guys to be able to win football games,” Darnold said. “But as we see every year, it’s about putting everything together. Right now, we still got a long way to go. We have a lot of meetings that we haven’t finished yet. We have some guys that are still learning the playbook. So there’s still a long way to go and a lot of practices to be had as well.”

Darnold is winless in two games against the Patriots in his career. The young quarterback has no touchdowns and six turnovers in those two losses to Belichick. He had season-lows in passer rating, completion percentage, yards and interceptions in a forgettable prime-time home loss to the Patriots last season.

“Right now,” Darnold said, “we’re just all working on ourselves and making sure we’re all good to go. I know everyone is just looking forward to going out there and winning the first game. Then after that, winning the second one.”

The AFC East is there for the taking. Will the Jets seize the opportunity with Brady gone?