NEW YORK — Got too much sauce. That’s too much sauce.
Welcome to the future of the Jets defensive back room as Gang Green selected Cincinnati cornerback Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner with the No. 4 overall pick.
The Jets snagged the highest rated corner prospect in the draft as Gardner fits the bill for everything teams want in a corner. Gardner is a physical 6-foot-2, 190-pound player who has elite speed to prevent explosive plays. He finished with nine interceptions during his collegiate career.
Opposing offenses barely targeted Gardner in his college last year because receivers rarely got open while he was guarding them. Gardner went his whole college career without allowing a touchdown in coverage.
The Jets have completely overhauled their cornerback room.
Drafting Gardner should drastically improve the talent level within the Jets cornerback room that features D.J. Reed, Bryce Hall and Brandin Echols. The cornerback room went from solid to extremely talented on paper.
This is an entirely different group compared to 2021 as the Jets were 29th in pass defense during last season’s 4-13 campaign allowing 259 yards per game. The pass defense stat line looks like a Pro Bowl type season for a quarterback. They gave up 4,682 yards, 28 touchdowns and a passer rating of 103, all ranked towards the most allowed.
That wasn’t all on the cornerbacks but it wasn’t like they were preventing it. Now the unit should be vastly improved with Gardner and Reed in the fold.
