It’s reasonable for a top-five pick in the NFL Draft to have high expectations entering their very first season in the league, but it seems like New York Jets rookie cornerback Sauce Gardner is already living up to some of the hype.
The No. 4 pick in the 2022 draft, the Jets selected Gardner in hopes that he’d be lockdown in coverage. While it’s just the NFL Preseason, a stat from Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus indicates that Gardner is doing just that.
Sauce Gardner went his entire college career without allowing a touchdown.
He just went his first NFL preseason without allowing a 𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡.
Hell, he wasn't even 𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒅 across three games.
— Sam Monson (@PFF_Sam) August 29, 2022
“Sauce Gardner went his entire college career without allowing a touchdown,” Monson Tweeted. “He just went his first NFL preseason without allowing a catch. Hell, he wasn’t even targeted across three games.”
While it’s not yet the regular season when the performances begin to really count, Gardner’s preseason dominance still caught the attention of the NFL world with plenty of people reacting to the rookie’s eye-popping stats. Some are aboard Gardner’s bandwagon, but others aren’t quite buying the hype.
He's totally getting lit up for a TD pass on the season's first drive…
(checks schedule, sees the Jets open with the Ravens)
Ok, perhaps in the second game…
(well, that's the Browns)
Joey B in Week Three, you're up! https://t.co/Q685d06EsV— Robert Weintraub (@robwein) August 29, 2022
https://twitter.com/Forester932/status/1564436291248324610?s=20&t=wiC-X63ktYSaEgNbD22HxQ
I wish I got twitter praise for not doing anything https://t.co/k1H3F3Q0xV
— r/UnitedFootballLeague on Reddit (@redditUFL) August 29, 2022
Sauce Gardner is going to the hall of fame https://t.co/M4MmFfwwOn
— Football Analysis (@FBallAnalysisYT) August 29, 2022
https://twitter.com/TheBillsGuys/status/1564370655885217792?s=20&t=wiC-X63ktYSaEgNbD22HxQ
He played 24 coverage snaps and wasn’t even targeted. https://t.co/xiyHZAGO5Y
— Chris (@chiefs_outsider) August 29, 2022
While Gardner has indeed been impressive during his preseason appearances, he’s still going to have to prove himself in the regular season. He’ll get his first chance when the Jets open their 2022-23 season against the Baltimore Ravens on Sept. 11.
