NFL

Jets place bets on veteran receivers

Jets coach Rex Ryan vigorously disputes the notion the team’s receiving corps got worse since the end of last season.

Fair enough, considering Gang Green added a pair of proven veterans in Plaxico Burress and Derrick Mason while retaining playmaker Santonio Holmes.

But did it get any better?

That remains a fair question, considering the Jets essentially traded Braylon Edwards and Jerricho Cotchery — neither one a slouch — for a soon-to-be 34-year-old who spent the past two years in prison and a 37-year-old who last made the Pro Bowl in 2003.

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Considering the statistical differences between the departed and incoming wideouts are pretty much a wash, the Jets’ decision to get older (and arguably slower) at such a key position seems curious, to put it mildly — especially since doing so is rarely a formula for success in the modern-day NFL.

Add to that the fact Holmes, now the team’s No. 1 receiver, is one marijuana puff from a lengthy NFL suspension, and it’s clear the Jets will be walking a high wire with their pass-catchers this fall.

“The proof will be in the pudding,” Ryan said yesterday when asked to compare the two receiving casts. “When you add Plaxico Burress and Derrick Mason and say the receiving crew got worse — hmm, I don’t know how accurate that is. I felt great about the receiving corps last year, and I feel great about the receiving corps this year.”

One thing is certain: The Jets will have to wait a little longer to see how their new receiving lineup looks on the field.

Burress has been slowed by an ankle injury and only participated in a couple of plays in team drills yesterday, while Mason was still finishing up the paperwork from his Saturday signing and probably won’t be in uniform until today at the earliest.

The Jets can’t say with any numerical evidence the switch is an upgrade.

While Edwards and Cotchery combined for 95 catches and nine receiving TDs last season (many in clutch situations), Burress was lifting in the prison yard and Mason was totaling 61 receptions for 802 yards and seven TDs for the receiver-challenged Ravens.

If this were 2006, the overhaul would probably be toasted league-wide. But in 2011, replacing Edwards and Cotchery with Burress and Mason looks like a dubious leap of faith by Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum.

“I’m not going to say it’s an upgrade, but the experience [difference] is an upgrade,” Mason said yesterday, shortly after signing a two-year deal. “Those guys [Edwards and Cotchery] were great with what they did last year. We’re just trying to win two more games than they did.”

Burress wouldn’t compare the two squads except to note one significant difference.

“We’ve all played in the Super Bowl,” Burress said of himself, Holmes and Mason.

At the very least, the Jets are counting on that veteran experience of Burress and Mason to benefit Mark Sanchez in the quarterback’s third season.

Burress, at 6-foot-5, will certainly be the jump-ball threat in the red zone he was for the Giants and Steelers, while Mason is smart, sure-handed and was labeled the best third-down slot receiver in football by Ryan yesterday.

On the flip side, the Jets will undoubtedly be slower — much slower — on the outside if Holmes or rookie fifth-round pick Jeremy Kerley aren’t on the field.

“I look at it like having three starters,” Ryan said. “Our [three-receiver] package is going to be something. It’s going to be tough on anybody. It’s going to be fun to watch.”

For fans and skeptics alike.

bhubbuch@nypost.com