Sauce Gardner could immediately upgrade the New York Jets
By James Reeve
It has been a long time since the New York Jets were a good football team, but cornerback Sauce Gardner could help the team work towards getting back there.
The New York Jets have suffered 11 consecutive seasons without a post-season appearance, and five out of the last six seasons have seen them bottom out in the AFC East – with serious upgrades needed at multiple positions on the team.
One of the most severe upgrades needed is on the defensive side of the ball, where the Jets performed poorly in virtually every category during the 2021 season – sitting in the bottom five teams in the entire league.
The last time the Jets made the post-season came during back-to-back trips to the Conference Finals in 2009 and 2010 under the guidance of then-head coach Rex Ryan, who established the team as a strong defensive side while also running the ball effectively on offence.
Robert Saleh’s team have worked to build a competent offence in 2022, though their efforts to trade for Tyreek Hill show that they are still keen to improve their receiving corps – something they are likely to do with the 10th overall pick in the draft.
With the Jets also holding the fourth overall pick, landing one of the best defensive players in the entire class is an absolute must to start building a roster that can compete in an already difficult division.
The player that would be guaranteed to help the team from day one is the best cornerback in the 2022 class – Cincinnati Bearcats’ Ahmad ‘Sauce’ Gardner, who could be available when the Jets make their first pick.
Gardner, who has excellent size at 6-foot-3, 190lbs, could be the spiritual successor to the best cornerback the Jets have had in the last decade-plus – Darrelle Revis.
During Revis’ time with the Jets, he became a shutdown player that opposing offences dreaded to face, and Gardner’s three-year tenure with the Bearcats certainly shows he could become a player of similar calibre and impact.
During three years of college, Gardner did not allow a single touchdown in coverage and posted strong stats with nine combined interceptions (two returned for touchdowns) and 16 pass defenses in 33 total games.
Gardner even added 3.5 sacks and had 99 total tackles (68 solo), helping to guide Cincinnati to a 13-1 record in the 2021 campaign – falling short to the Alabama Crimson Tide in the CFP semi-finals after posting a perfect regular season record.
The Detroit, Michigan native earned himself Consensus All-American and AAC Defensive Player of the Year honours while being named All-AAC first-team every year he played.
He is viewed as an immediate starter and has been compared to three-time All-Pro and Super Bowl XLVIII champion Richard Sherman, immediately setting expectations of a dominant corner at the NFL level.
If the New York Jets are determined to accelerate the strengthening of their roster ahead of the 2022 season, adding a sure-fire starter that could bring back memories of Revis Island is certainly one way to do it.