The Jets passed on the quarterback to take someone who can frustrate quarterbacks.

Gang Green did not take Memphis quarterback Paxton Lynch with the 20th overall pick Thursday night, instead selecting inside linebacker Darron Lee out of Ohio State with their first-round pick. Lee is a speed demon, who ran a blistering 4.47-second, 40-yard dash at the scouting combine in February and can give the Jets some much-needed team speed. Lee is skilled in pass coverage and can also rush the passer.

“We’re quite excited about what he brings to the organization in terms of his ability as a player, but we also like him from a character standpoint, too, in terms of the work we did on him,” Jets general manager Mike Maccagnan said.

The Jets like Lee’s skill set and the fact he is a young player. He left Ohio State after his redshirt sophomore season and is only 21. Lee had 44 tackles and four sacks last season after having 7.5 as a freshman.

The knock on Lee is that he is weak against the run because he is small at 6-foot-1, 232 pounds. Jets coach Todd Bowles said he is not concerned about Lee’s run-stopping, though, and is comfortable with him at his current weight. Bowles said initially Lee would back up Erin Henderson and come in against the pass, but the Jets believe he will eventually play on every down.

“He can play as a nickel [linebacker] right now,” Bowles said. “He can grow into a three-down backer as he goes forward. He’s going to make us a lot faster and we can do a lot of things with him. He’s a very good pressure guy, he’s a very good cover guy and he runs sideline to sideline.”

Lee was one of five Ohio State players selected in the first round and the second taken by a New York team Thursday after the Giants took cornerback Eli Apple at 10.

“He’s small but rangy and can cover ground as a linebacker,” an executive with another team said of Lee. “He’s got speed and can play in coverage but he’s an undersized guy.”

The Jets had some interesting choices available at 20. UCLA linebacker Myles Jack, who some considered the best player in the draft, was there, but the Jets passed on him. Maccagnan would not address Jack specifically, but said medical concerns factor in when the Jets are making a pick. Jack has a knee condition that reportedly could require microfracture surgery, which knocked him out of the first round.

Lynch was a player the Jets were connected to in many mock drafts in recent weeks and was also available at 20. Lynch would have been a risky pick at 20 because no one believes he is ready to play immediately.

Alabama inside linebacker Reggie Ragland also had a lot of buzz connecting him to the Jets, but Maccagnan and company liked Lee more.

“He’s very athletic,” Maccagnan said. “We have a good core of players already. I think he brings the ability to potentially improve our overall team speed. We felt his ability to be a three-down player for us, both run and passing downs.”

Lee can help the Jets against the spread offenses that are the rage in the NFL. The Jets linebacking corps got old and slow in recent years and they are now overhauling the position. They allowed Demario Davis to leave as a free agent and Calvin Pace was not re-signed.

Lee said he clicked with Jets linebackers coach Mike Caldwell when he visited the team. As for the knock that he might struggle against the run, he said he is not worried.

“We have a whole defense that’s hungry so I feel that I’ll be fine stacking up against the run,” Lee said. “I’m not really worried.”

This is the seventh straight year the Jets have taken a defensive player in the first round. The last offensive player they took was Mark Sanchez in 2009. The pick of Lee might bring back some bad memories for Jets fans after the team famously took Vernon Gholston out of Ohio State with their first pick in 2008. Gholston went down as one of the worst picks in team history.

Maccagnan is banking on Lee not coming close to that distinction.