Cornerback Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner and defensive end Jermaine Johnson possess the talent to catapult the Jets’ defense out of the NFL basement.

But head coach Robert Saleh understands Gardner and Johnson are NFL infants and rookie development varies. Some first-year players become Pro Bowl and All-Pro caliber in Year 1 while others progress slower before becoming stars.

“I’m not expecting anything from the guys except for just stepping on the field and doing your absolute best. I know it’s cliche, but it’s the truth,” Saleh said Friday on Day 1 of the Jets’ rookie minicamp. “Rookies, they cook at their own rate. They evolve and become competitors at different rates, all over the place. Some guys like a [Bengals] Jamar Chase show up Dau 1, and they are who they are. And we got guys who take three, four years. So, the expectation for them is to step on the field, lock in, do your absolute best every day, absorb all the reps that you’re getting, learn from your mistakes and see how much better you can get.”

Saleh isn’t forecasting elite production from the No. 4 and No. 26 overall picks in last week’s draft out the gate, but the pairing fills two gaping needs for the Jets.

Even through the growing pains, Gardner’s ability to thrive in press man coverage should help the Jets on third downs, something the Jets cornerbacks struggled badly in during last season’s 4-13 campaign.

And even though Gardner didn’t play a lot of zone coverage in college at Cincinnati, Saleh doesn’t anticipate that being an issue for his rookie CB because of his mental acumen which translates well in zone coverage.

“You can see that he’s an outside-the-box thinker, you can see he’s got great vision on the field,” Saleh said. “He’s a tremendous communicator. He can diagnose a play before it ever snaps. Sauce has a tremendous mental makeup to him that allows him to see the game differently than most players. … Our zone defenses from all corners are pretty simple. Just give up guys behind you.”

The talent of Gardner will raise the play of the Jets’ secondary, but coverage without any pass rusher is almost futile.

So the addition of Johnson was necessary to improve the defensive line, which suffered injuries and failed to generate a pass rush throughout the season as they finished with just 33 sacks.

But even without the production in 2021, Johnson is still joining a talented defensive line that features Quinnen Williams, John Franklin-Myers, Sheldon Rankins and Carl Lawson (who’s returning from a torn Achilles).

Franklin-Myers and Williams produced solid seasons. And Lawson looked like the Jets’ best player, destroying offensive lineman in the pass and run game throughout training camp, prior to his season-ending injury.

With Lawson returning along with the current talent, that group should pose an easier transition for Johnson as he’ll be presented with more one-on-one opportunities.

“So just to have that veteran presence for him will make it easier,” Saleh said. “Football is still a one-on-one game, it doesn’t matter if you have an all-star lineup, if you’re in a one-on-one and you can’t win, then it doesn’t matter. So having the presence of those guys creates more one-on-ones. It’s a matter of learning the game and understanding how to win those one-on-ones that will make the difference for him.”

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