Getty New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner reacting in the middle of a press conference.
Not everyone is a fan of New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner.
Jeremy Fowler of ESPN released his top 10 cornerback rankings that are voted on by a panel of scouts, coaches, and league executives. Gardner was ranked as the third-best corner in football and people had a lot to say about him.
“One of the most overrated players in the league,” a high-ranking NFL personnel evaluator told ESPN in a column posted on Thursday, July 18. “You could call holding on him every play.”
Fowler also revealed that “Gardner gathered fewer top votes than he did after his rookie year” in this same ESPN ranking. “He’s a polarizing figure,” Fowler added.
The Ranking Doesn’t Make Any Sense
Gardner was a first-team All-Pro cornerback after his rookie season. According to the Jets website, Gardner became the first rookie to earn that recognition since Pro Football Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott did it in 1981 with the San Francisco 49ers.
How did he follow up that season?
Gardner earned another first-team All-Pro nomination in year No. 2. That list is even shorter. The former Cincinnati product is the only player since the AFL/NFL merger to earn a first-team All-Pro bid through his first two seasons.
One of Gardner’s big criticisms has been his lack of turnovers. Through two years he only has two interceptions, both of which came during his rookie campaign.
The other criticism you hear of Gardner is his “handsy” nature and he grabs a lot in his coverage. Fowler said because of that, “a few established personnel executives left him off the top 10 altogether.”
Some members of the panel voted Gardner the best corner in football and others left him completely unranked.
Gardner Has a Chance to Rise to Another Level in 2024
Through no fault of his own, Gardner hasn’t gotten many opportunities because teams avoided him.
Last season, Gardner was only targeted 57 times. For context, the top-ranked corner in ESPN’s rankings was Pat Surtain II of the Denver Broncos and he was targeted nearly double the amount (90) of Gardner.
“Surtain allowed 58 receptions for 790 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 1 interception on 90 targets as the nearest defender, good enough for a 102.5 passer rating for opposing quarterbacks,” Fowler revealed.
Gardner on his targets only allowed 366 yards and two touchdowns, per ESPN.
In 2024, Gardner has a chance to shut up some of his haters. You can’t please everyone, but he has a chance to quiet a lot of the noise.
The Jets have openly discussed allowing Gardner to travel with the opponent’s No. 1 wide receiver in 2024. That would be a stark change from his first two seasons where the former Cincinnati product stuck to one side of the field.
That would in theory give him more opportunities to make plays on the ball and be a bigger part of the defense in a similar way to Pro Football Hall of Famer Darrelle Revis who earned the moniker “Revis Island.”
The Jets’ defense is already really good, but maximizing the skill set of Gardner has the potential to make this the undisputed best defense in the NFL.