NFL

Ryan believes Gholston can still star with Jets

As he was talking up Vernon Gholston to the hilt yesterday, Jets coach Rex Ryan also came clean about one of the team’s biggest draft busts in years.

No, Ryan admitted, he would not have taken Gholston sixth overall in 2008 if Ryan had been coach at the time.

“I think when he came out, there probably needed to be some development there and things like that,” Ryan said as the Jets prepared to visit the Lions tomorrow. “The sixth overall player? I don’t know about that.”

In fact, Gholston has been such a disappointment that Ryan admitted yesterday Jets players have talked about creating a “pity sack” for their struggling teammate.

Ouch.

“When you have guys saying, ‘I want to throw the quarterback to Vernon so he can get the sack just to get it off his back,’ that’s what they think of him,” Ryan said. “Everybody wants it bad for Vernon.”

Revisiting Gholston’s fateful selection by current general manager Mike Tannenbaum and then-coach Eric Mangini two years ago has been in fashion this week, because the Jets will be playing in the backup defensive end’s hometown of Detroit.

That trip prompted a Michigan reporter to get on Ryan’s bad side by saying Ryan’s claim of having the NFL’s best defense couldn’t be true because Gholston — he of exactly zero sacks in 36 pro games — is a member of it.

Ryan stuck up for Gholston and continued yesterday to sell that the former Ohio State standout is just a slow developer and not what he appears to be on paper — a complete washout.

“It’s unfair,” Ryan said. “Sometimes it’s tough for fans to realize there has to be development with guys. You’re thinking, ‘Hey, he’s the sixth overall pick. You’re going to get Lawrence Taylor.’ But there’s only been one Lawrence Taylor. It just takes time for guys to feel their way.”

Ryan said Gholston, who has just five tackles in seven games this season despite playing in every game, is hamstrung by a lack of opportunities as Shaun Ellis’ backup and by a 3-4 defensive scheme that supposedly doesn’t allow its ends much opportunity to post big individual numbers.

Even so, defending Gholston is a tough sell. Despite being one of the strongest players on the team, he plays passively and seemingly much smaller than his 6-foot-3, 260-pound frame.

That wasn’t the case at Ohio State, where Gholston dominated lesser competition while racking up a school-record 14 sacks in his final college season.

Ryan said he understands why the Jets’ braintrust at the time was fooled into reaching for Gholston, especially coming off a 2007 season in which Gang Green mustered just 29 sacks as a team.

“I don’t blame Eric or anybody else for trying to make that move, because you see those numbers and think he could be ideal at [a particular] spot,” Ryan said.

The soft-spoken Gholston, who volunteered to take a significant pay cut in the offseason because he realizes he has underperformed, said he is trying to keep his confidence high.

“It’s the second year in the system so you have confidence in where you’re supposed to be,” Gholston said. “That’s the biggest thing. It’s all about how you get in there. [Those] are the things that you’re working on now.”

Ryan, who replied, “Absolutely,” when asked if Gholston has a long-term future with the Jets, keeps insisting prosperity is just around the corner for his beleaguered young player.

“I think Vernon’s going to be a productive player in this league,” Ryan said. “He’s smart and a team-first guy all the way. Eventually, he’s going to make those numbers that people think.”

bhubbuch@nypost.com