Williams is all-in with Gang rebuild

THE JETS might look hideous at the moment, but they have precisely the player to help them climb out of this mess.

For all the pieces that Mike Maccagnan and Todd Bowles don’t have, they have a budding defensive star who is all-in with this roster makeover.

Leonard Williams channeled his inner Joel Embiid Wednesday with the kind of resolute endorsement that undoubtedly put smiles on the powers that be hoping to change the culture of this star-crossed franchise.

“I’m trusting the process,” Williams said on a conference call with reporters. “We have a new GM and a new head coach. They want their specific guys here. There were a lot of guys here before they got here that they didn’t necessarily draft or you didn’t know if they wanted them here or not … I think I’m just kind of moving on.”

The Jets purged their roster of highpriced (and sometimes underachieving) veterans this offseason with the hope of setting a new foundation. Williams, the first draft pick of the new regime two years ago, will be the defensive engine and face of Bowles’ defense.

Williams, coming off a team-high seven sacks in his second season, not surprisingly has Pro Bowl expectations again. (So does everyone else).

“I’m going to try to make it back again, but not be an alternate,” Williams said. “I’m trying to get at least 10-plus (sacks) and try to keep elevating my game more and more. Outside of that, I just want to step up more into my leadership role.”

The most frightening part: He will turn only 23 next month.

Williams will anchor a defensive line that might lose one of its best players. The Daily News reported shortly after last weekend’s draft that the Jets are still hoping to trade Sheldon Richardson this summer. Maccagnan gauged Richardson’s market value before last year’s trade deadline before shopping him during the draft.

The sticking point in trade talks with teams last weekend was Richardson’s guaranteed $8.1 million salary, according to sources. Interested teams like Washington wanted Richardson to restructure his contract, or, in short, take a pay cut.

Although there’s an air of inevitability about Richardson’s future with the team, Williams believes in the organization’s master plan.

“I’m sure he’s heard the rumors and stuff, but he’s not letting it affect him,” Williams said. “I respect him for that. But like I said, I’m trusting the process. Whatever moves that coaches want to make and the GM wants to make, I think they’re going to be good moves.”