It may have happened anyway, but Leonard Williams’ absence, with what coach Adam Gase called an “irritation in his hip,” merely sped up the process.

So there was Quinnen Williams, the heavily hyped rookie who is called “Big Baby” by his Jets teammates, working with the starters the past two days and getting a chance to flash his immense potential.

There was Williams knifing between center Jonotthan Harrison and guard Brian Winters for a would-be sack of Sam Darnold, showing the quick first step that led the Jets to draft him third overall.

There was Williams, helping the first-team defense get a push up front, getting the better of the offense the past two days and receiving rave reviews from his older teammates.

“He’s very dynamic. He’s a young man who’s very explosive, great hands. The sky is the limit for him,” defensive tackle Steve McLendon said.

“He’s a guy that obviously is young right now and he’s feeling out everything. But he has the mindset of a killer,” safety Jamal Adams added.

“He’s a powerful dude, but he’s also really quick. … For a guy his size, you don’t typically see the quickness and quick twitch that he has,” defensive end Henry Anderson noted.

The 6-foot-3, 303-pound Williams, who went from an unknown at Alabama to arguably the best defensive lineman in the country last year, has been one of the biggest stories so far in training camp, right up there with the exceptional play of Darnold and the presence of Le’Veon Bell.

Williams’ bubbly personality has made him an early fan and media favorite — he went viral on Saturday when he said he was looking forward to playing with himself, referring to the new “Madden” video game — and his positive demeanor has endeared him to veterans. He’s also not just relying on his natural physical gifts. Williams knows that alone won’t lead to success.

“He’s showing a lot of good things. He’s working moves,” said guard Kelechi Osemele. “He’s already a strong kid, so he’s playing to his strengths. He’s already got a good bull-rush. But what I’ve seen from Day 1 and now is he’s working some counters and using his hands really well. He’s progressing.”

Osemele said he has seen rookies use counter moves before, but usually not this early.

“It’s definitely a good sign,” he said.

When Gase was asked if he believes Williams can make an impact this year, he nearly did a double take, as if he had been asked whether Darnold would be his starting quarterback. Of course, his eyes said. There wasn’t much of a drop-off from one Williams — Leonard to Quinnen — to the other.

“He looks pretty good in practice,” Gase said of the rookie. “Our young players that have shown they’ve been practicing well, I think that those guys can really help us. We’re looking for guys day-in and day-out to see if they affect practice in a positive way, then they’re probably going to help us in games.”

Adams said he likes Williams’ confident attitude, which reminds him of himself. Shortly after he was drafted, Williams said he was “ready to be the best in the world,” and thus far he has backed up that big talk with his actions on the field.

“If he doesn’t reach the goals [he’s setting for himself], everybody’s going to talk about him. And that’s OK,” Adams said. “But he’s holding himself accountable. He’s holding himself at a high level. All you can do is respect it.

“He’s hungry, man — he’s a hungry guy, and I know he’s going to come out here and he’s going to make plays.”