Sauce Gardner is Already One of the NFL's Premier Cornerbacks

Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner has taken the NFL by storm this season as the rookie has quickly become one of the best cornerbacks in the entire league.

When the Jets selected Gardner with the fourth overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, it was clear they thought the former all-american and AAC defensive player of the year could be a star-level cornerback someday.

Why not? Gardner had an excellent college career, racking up 68 solo tackles, nine interceptions, and 16 passes defended through three seasons at Cincinnati. He also never allowed a single touchdown despite starting since his first year on campus.

Even though the Jets thought he was worth a top-five pick, it's hard to imagine they expected Gardner to be an all-pro caliber corner right off the bat. However, that's exactly what's happened, and now the Jets have one of the best young cornerbacks in the NFL.

Let's break down Sauce Gardner's performance through the first half of the season and see how he's already become one of the NFL's premier cornerbacks.

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A Special Playmaker

In an interview with ESPN, former All-Pro cornerback Darrelle Revis had a lot of praise for Sauce Gardner.

"When you come in as a rookie, you want the elite players you're playing against to respect you, and the only way you do that is to be a playmaker," Revis said. "I think Sauce has the word 'playmaker' written all over him."

The word playmaker is a perfect description of Gardner. Through seven games, he has been one of the more productive cornerbacks in the entire league, recording two interceptions and a league-best 13 passes defended. He is one of just three players to have multiple interceptions, and at least ten passes defended this season.

Gardner has been a dangerous playmaker this year, and the number of times he gets his hands on the ball is insane for his age.

To be fair, stats like interceptions and passes defended are heavily influenced by a player's role and the system they play in, but Gardner's role is part of the reason why he is such an impressive player.

This season, he has 51 total targets and an average depth of target (DADOT) of 13.2 yards. Only six other cornerbacks have 50+ targets and a DADOT of 10+ this season.

That combination of target volume and depth of target is extremely rare for a rookie. Since 2018, only three rookie cornerbacks have had 50+ targets and a DADOT of 13+.

The New York Jets put a lot on Gardner's plate, lining him up with their opponent's best receiver week after week. NFL YouTuber Brett Kollman noted this on Twitter when he listed all the top receivers the rookie has faced this season.

That is a strong list of names that features two former All-Pros (Tyreek Hill and Stefon Diggs) and four former Pro Bowlers (Amari Cooper, Ja'Marr Chase, Diontae Johnson, and Courtland Sutton). The fact that the Jets trust Gardner to line up with these receivers in man coverage shows just how special he is.

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Elite Coverage Stats

Sauce Gardner has incredible counting stats, but his advanced coverage stats are even more impressive.

Through seven weeks, he has allowed just 4.4 yards per target and a completion percentage of just 52.9%. He has also allowed just one touchdown for a passer rating of 54.9.

Here is where he ranks in each of these categories among 14 cornerbacks with at least 50 targets:

Yards/Target: 2nd

Completion Percentage: 4th

Passer Rating Allowed: 3rd

This means he is not giving up many completions, and when he does, he's not giving up a ton of yards.

Here's a chart with every cornerback who has allowed a passer rating of less than 80 on at least 40 targets this season.

Passer rating is not a perfect measure of cornerback play, but this shows that Gardner's efficiency on a per-play basis is elite, especially considering his role/usage.

According to PFF's grades, which are created using film-based tracking, Gardner has been one of the three best cornerbacks in football, as he ranks third in PFF's overall defense grade behind Mack Jones and Jalen Ramsey.

No matter what numbers you look at, Sauce has evidently been one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL this year.

What The Film Says

Now that we've looked at Gardner's individual statistics, let's look at the film and see whether or not the tape reflects what the numbers tell us. Let's start with his second career game vs. the Cleveland Browns.

This was honestly not a great game for Gardner, as he allowed six catches for 49 yards and a touchdown for a passer rating of 140.3.

On this first play, it's 1st and 10, and the Browns are in a single-back formation with three wide receivers running routes. Pre-snap, this looks like a potential run play, and the Jets are stacking the box to shut down the run.

However, they're also leaving Sauce Gardner on an island in man coverage vs. Amari Cooper. This is his second game EVER, and the Jets leave him one-on-one with a phenomenal route runner.

The Browns decide to go after Gardner as they run play action and throw a comeback to Cooper, who creates a ton of separation for an easy catch on the sideline. This is really good play calling from the Browns, and expecting Gardner to get a stop would be foolish. He would need to play perfect coverage to force an incompletion.

This next play is far less excusable, though.

The Browns are in a 3rd and Goal situation at the Jets' six-yard line. This is a clear passing situation, as they have a chance to go up by a touchdown. Unfortunately for the Jets, there is some major miscommunication from their secondary on this play.

The Jets are in cover three (single high safety with two outside corners covering a third of the field), and the Browns attack the right seam with a skinny post route from Amari Cooper. It looks like Sauce Gardner isn't quite sure whether or not he is responsible for the flat (he isn't), so he leaves Cooper wide open for a touchdown.

This is undoubtedly a rough play for him.

The very next game vs. the Bengals was a lot better, and Gardner looked way more comfortable as he faced the two-headed giant of Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.

On this play, the Bengals attempt to generate a big play vs. the Jets' cover-four defense. The Bengals are able to occupy the free safety with a seam route, leaving Ja'Marr Chase one-on-one with Sauce Gardner.

Joe Burrow unleashes a deep bomb to Chase, but Gardner sticks to him like glue and breaks up the pass. This an amazing play because Chase is an elite deep threat who is extremely effective on 50-50 balls. That didn't matter here, though, as Gardner broke up the pass, setting up a long third down.

Gardner also got to cover Tee Higgins in this game, and he did fairly well, especially on this play late in the second quarter.

It's 3rd and 9, and the Bengals are in a clear passing situation. The Jets are running cover two, and it's a great call, as the Bengals have almost zero open receivers. However, Tee Higgins does get some separation on an out route vs. Sauce Gardner.

Luckily, Gardner has incredible length, and he's able to get back into the play to break up the pass and force the Bengals to punt.

Sauce Gardner's film is quite impressive. He is extremely effective in one-on-one coverage deep down the field, and he rarely gets flustered in these situations.

His man coverage skills are very good, and he's able to shut down opposing receivers due to his size and mobility. There aren't many cornerbacks built like him, and he knows how to utilize his length properly.

There are times when he gets lost in zone coverage and gives up big plays, but he'll develop in that area as he gains experience. The fact that he's a fantastic man corner already is good enough to make up for his woes in zone coverage.

How Sauce Gardner is Impacting the Team

One of the most impressive things about Sauce Gardner's season is the effect he has had on the Jets' defense.

Last season, they ranked 32nd in EPA per play and EPA per dropback. That has completely changed this year, as they currently rank 7th in EPA per play and 8th in EPA per dropback.

One reason for this sudden improvement in their defensive efficiency is their awesome pass rush. In 2021, the Jets ranked 27th in pressure rate at 21.4%. After adding Carl Lawson to their defensive line, they have risen to 6th in pressure rate at 25.3%.

Another reason for this improvement is their pass defense. In 2021, the Jets ranked 31st in ANY/A. Now they rank 5th. That is a massive jump in just one year.

AN/YA is a metric that measures passing efficiency using completion percentage, touchdown rate, interception rate, yards per attempt, and sack rate. It's a pretty good stat for measuring a team's pass defense, but the inclusion of sacks doesn't tell us much about a team's secondary. Let's look at a quarterback efficiency metric that doesn't include sacks.

The Jet's secondary has played extremely well this season, ranking 3rd behind the Eagles and Broncos in passer rating. Passer rating is essentially ANY/A without the inclusion of sacks.

This shows us that the Jets have a strong pass defense, and it isn't solely because of their improved pass rush.

Who deserves credit for their secondary playing so well? I think Sauce Gardner deserves most of the praise.

This season, he leads the Jets in passes defended and passer rating allowed (min. 40 targets). He's also tied for 2nd in interceptions. Even as a rookie, Gardner has been the most productive defensive back in the Jets' secondary.

Gardner is not the only reason why the Jets' defense has played at a high level this year. Carl Lawson, Quinnen Williams, Michael Carter (not the running back), and D.J. Reed have played a huge part as well. However, his impact is obvious, and it's clear that he is one of the biggest reasons why the Jets' secondary has been so productive.

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Sauce Garnder is a very special player. His success at such a young age is truly unbelievable, and there's a solid chance he will be named an All-Pro as a rookie. If he does achieve this, he'd be the second cornerback to ever do it, with Ronnie Lott being the first in 1981.

The film and the numbers speak for themselves. Gardner has been super productive, he has excelled against the game's top wideouts, and he has had a profound effect on the Jet's pass defense.

Simply put, Sauce Gardner is rare, and he is already an elite cornerback.