Sauce Gardner is already deservedly recognized as one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL after his incredible rookie season. However, his running mate sometimes doesn’t get the recognition he deserves as well.
Fortunately, our friend Doug Farrar of Touchdown Wire is here to give that recognition. In his recent piece looking at a “secret superstar” for each team, he named cornerback D.J. Reed to that position for the New York Jets.
Here’s what Farrar had to say about Reed:
Rookie cornerback Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner got all the kudos in the Jets’ secondary last season, and there’s nothing wrong with that — the 2022 Defensive Rookie of the Year was about as good as any cornerback in the league, no matter what coverage he was playing. But there’s more to be said than has been said about D.J. Reed, who the Jets stole on a three-year, $33 million contract in 2022. Reed was on the open market despite the fact that he had played exceedingly well for the Seahawks in 2020 and 2021.
The former fifth-round pick of the 49ers in 2018 out of Kansas State has undoubtedly found his ideal home in Robert Saleh’s defense — last season, he allowed 47 catches on 83 targets for 467 yards, 120 yards after the catch, two touchdowns, one interception, 12 pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 75.7. If you wanted to avoid Sauce, throwing to Reed’s side of the field didn’t produce more positive options.
The Jets had one Pro Bowl cornerback in 2022, but you can very well argue they could have, and maybe should have, had two Pro Bowlers at the position.
Reed is still only 26 years old and the Jets have him for at least the next two seasons. Perhaps in 2023, he won’t be as much of a secret anymore.
