Football is an athletic game. A combative, violent one but the root of it is speed.

How fast can a receiver get to a spot on the field and how fast can a quarterback throw the ball to that receiver? Those are age-old, offensive-based questions. The Jets, under second-year coach Todd Bowles, isn’t looking to wait around for the answer.

They’re just going to do whatever they can to shorten the length of time the opposing offense has control over the ball. The main ingredient in that formula is, again, speed.

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“We picked up [Darron] Lee, a linebacker that can run 4.4,” Jets cornerback Buster Skrine told New York Post writer Brian Costello. “Our other rookie [outside linebacker Jordan Jenkins] from Georgia, he plays fast. I don’t think he ran a fast 40, but if you watch him play, he plays fast. I definitely think we got faster.”

The more speed added, the more terrifying the results. The Jets, despite missing the postseason after a tough Week 17 loss to Buffalo, finished fourth in the NFL in yards allowed, giving up 318.6 per contest. They were ninth in scoring defense, surrendering 19.6 points a game.

And two of their first three picks in the 2016 NFL draft were on-field speed demons.

“The more we play together, the more we love the scheme,” safety Calvin Pryor told Costello. “I think we’ll be well off. We have guys who are flying around. It’s fun.”

Fun for the Jets. Not so much for opposing quarterbacks who have to worry about the added speed plus the obvious talent from defensive linemen Muhammad Wilkerson, Sheldon Richardson and Leonard Williams.