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The New York Jets have a checkered history with the NFL draft. Over the years they have been synonymous as an organization with constant failure in selecting college athletes.
However, that unfortunate run has seemingly ended with their recent success in the 2022 NFL draft.
Robert Saleh Boldly Sends out a Dare Regarding Jets Rookie Sauce Gardner
The Jets made history and selected Ahmad Gardner with the No. 4 overall pick in the first round out of Cincinnati.
The former Bearcat affectionately known as Sauce was an exciting player in the buildup to the draft, but not one that fans expected considering the recent history of the San Francisco 49ers.
Despite the surprise, Sauce has proven his new coaching staff and organization right by dominating in his very first season.
That led head coach Robert Saleh to send out a very festive triple dog dare (tip of the cap to A Christmas Story movie) to the rest of the NFL:
“It was funny in walkthrough I was talking about Richard Sherman if he ever reached 18 miles an hour on the GPS it was a rough day for him because no one ever threw his way because of his presence. It was like he just watched football the whole game. You know the challenge to Ahmad is to go take the ball and he will have a bunch of days like that to where he doesn’t have to defend go balls and he’s gonna. He is so freaking close (then Saleh turns and stares at the camera), keep trying him!”
In other words what Saleh is really saying is if Sauce can start getting some more interceptions when teams are trying him deep, they won’t try him anymore. However, his coach believes Sauce is getting close to making teams pay and thus he’s daring them to keep playing with fire because they will eventually get burned.
The Miami Dolphins did in Week 5 at MetLife Stadium and Garnder was able to secure his first interception. If he keeps getting tested the way he has over the last few weeks, that won’t be the last interception he snags this season.
Sauce Gardner Is Proving to Be the Secret Sauce for Jets
Last year the Jets’ defensive coaching staff worked with the ingredients they had.
There were certainly some rough moments, but plenty of seeds featuring optimism if you squinted. Instead of resting on their laurels heading into a new year, the Jets hit the upgrade button in the secondary.
Normally a Robert Saleh-built defense is focused on the front four and there is unquestionably an emphasis there. However, the ability to increase the talent on the backend has had a tremendous impact on everything the team has been able to accomplish.
In other words, elite cornerback play has allowed the Jets to unleash a four-man rush more frequently because their corners can cover for longer periods of time than what they were able to do last season.
If Sauce is already this good half a season into his rookie year, just imagine the heights he’ll be able to reach as he continues to progress. The rest of the NFL better be taking careful notes because this young man is already one of the best at his position.
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