The Jets hope they have their franchise quarterback in Sam Darnold. Through five games, he has done nothing to dissuade them of that notion. In fact, he’s only encouraged it with some of the throws he has made and the way he has conducted himself.

Now, the Jets should look at their opponent this week and vow not to screw up Darnold’s prime the way the Colts have screwed up Andrew Luck’s.

Think about it: Luck is now 29 years old and is in his seventh NFL season. What do the Colts have to show for landing one of the most talented quarterbacks in a generation? A few trips to the playoffs and a blowout AFC Championship Game loss to the Patriots and their deflated footballs.

And that was four years ago.

Since then, they have allowed Luck to get abused behind an inadequate offensive line, suffer through the dysfunction of a coach and general manager not on the same page and then miss an entire season because they did not address his injuries quickly enough.

Are you taking notes, Christopher Johnson?

The Colts come to MetLife Stadium on Sunday at 1-4 and on the verge of another lost season with Luck. Since losing that title game in Foxborough, the Colts are 21-32.

Unlike the Colts, every decision the Jets make for the foreseeable future needs to be based on one question: How does this help Sam?

A franchise quarterback is one of the rarest commodities in sports. It is like inheriting beachfront property. You can’t screw it up once the football gods smile upon you.

In Indianapolis, that is just what they did. The Colts’ drafts were abysmal. After taking Luck and T.Y. Hilton in 2012, then-GM Ryan Grigson struggled to find talent. Their 2013 first-round pick, Bjoren Werner, lasted three years before he was out of the league. They traded their 2014 first-round pick for Trent Richardson. Whoops! Phillip Dorsett, the 2015 pick, was ineffective and is now trying to salvage his career in New England.

Grigson made a few stabs at landing offensive linemen to protect Luck, but largely whiffed. He took a guard and a center in 2013 that did not pan out. He took tackle Jack Mewhort in the second round in 2014 and then spent a few late-round picks on linemen. But only two offensive linemen from Grigson’s last draft in 2016 are currently starting for the Colts — center Ryan Kelly and left guard Le’Raven Clark.

The poor line play led to Luck getting battered. In 2015 he suffered a shoulder injury three games into the season when he was sacked three times by the Titans. Instead of having surgery on the shoulder then, the Colts and Luck would wait until January 2017. That meant he was playing at less than 100 percent for almost two full seasons. Who knows how much more damage he did to his body by playing and compensating for his aching shoulder?

Basically, a shoulder injury cost Luck three of his prime years when it probably should have just been one. Along the way in 2015, he also suffered a lacerated kidney and an abdominal tear, injuries that were compared to being involved in a car accident by a doctor. Luck should not have even been on the field.

Luck played remarkably well in 2016 despite the shoulder injury, throwing 31 touchdowns and 13 interceptions, but his shoulder was bad enough to need surgery immediately after the season. He missed all of last year.

After throwing for 464 and 365 yards in his past two games, it appears Luck is just now returning to his old form.

So, why was he out there? You have to wonder if some of it was Grigson and former coach Chuck Pagano trying to keep their jobs. Both were known to be on the hot seat and at odds with each other back in 2015.

It is a lesson for the Jets that Darnold’s future is more important than anything else now for this franchise, and doing everything to secure that needs to be the priority in every decision.