Zach Wilson will start again for Jets vs. Jaguars with Mike White still injured

When the Jets host the Jaguars on Thursday, the top two draft picks of the 2021 draft will be facing off.

Zach Wilson — and not Mike White — will be under center for the Jets when they take on former first-overall pick Trevor Lawrence.

Head coach Robert Saleh announced White will not be cleared for contact in time and will be on the bench for a second straight week.

The Jets, losers of three straight, likely will need to win their final three games for a shot at the postseason, and they again will turn to a young quarterback whom they benched in Week 12 for a “reset,” feeling Wilson needed more time to develop.

“He’s got a lot of the things that you can’t teach,” Saleh said of Wilson at Jets practice in Florham Park on Tuesday. “For him, it’s learning the timing and rhythm aspect of it.”

The Jets will ask Wilson to learn on the fly.

“You’re always trying to win football games first, and you hope that development is happening all at the same time,” Saleh said.

White, who suffered multiple consecutive rib fractures in a Week 14 loss in Buffalo, could not be cleared in time for Sunday’s loss to the Lions. Wilson retook the reins and went 18-for-35 for 317 yards, two touchdowns and a costly interception.

Saleh said he did not know much more time White will miss, but he does not believe the rib injury will end his season.