NFL Exec Calls Out Sauce Gardner After $120M Jets Contract, 'Didn't Make Many Plays'

The New York Jets made a big bet on Sauce Gardner as the anchor of their secondary by giving him a four-year, $120.4 million contract extension, but his actual impact on games is something still being debated within NFL circles.

In a survey of coaches, scouts and executives ranking the top 10 cornerbacks in the NFL entering the 2025 season conducted by ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, one AFC personnel staffer was critical of Gardner because he "didn't make many plays" in 2024.

"Needs a bounce-back year in 2025," the staffer said. "Lots of missed tackles and penalties and didn't make many plays last year. Too much, too soon and thought the NFL was easy."

ESPN Top 10 CB Rankings

1. Pat Surtain II, Denver Broncos
2. Derek Stingley Jr., Houston Texans
3. Denzel Ward, Cleveland Browns
4. Trent McDuffie, Kansas City Chiefs
5. Sauce Gardner, New York Jets
6. Christian Gonzalez, New England Patriots
7. Jaycee Horn, Carolina Panthers
8. Jaylon Johnson, Chicago Bears
9. Quinyon Mitchell, Philadelphia Eagles
10. Devon Witherspoon, Seattle Seahawks

The overall consensus on Gardner remains very strong, as he came in fifth in Fowler's survey. However, he has been slowly trending in the wrong direction.

In the 2023 rankings, Gardner was second to Pat Surtain II after he made the All-Pro first team as a rookie. He fell one spot to third in the 2024 rankings and now fifth.

Last season was the worst of Gardner's career to this point. Fowler noted he had a "respectable" year with an 83.3 passer rating against when targeted and just one touchdown allowed as the primary defender. His nine penalties against were tied for fifth-most among all defensive backs.

Per Next Gen Stats (h/t ESPN's Rich Cimini), Gardner ranked 47th out of 52 cornerbacks with at least 400 coverage snaps in EPA per target as the nearest defender in 2024.

Cimini noted Gardner ranked second and 13th in that category in his first two seasons.

Despite some dip in his performance last season, Gardner is hardly a cornerback opposing teams are picking on.

Gardner has played well whether he is asked to play man or zone coverage, though he's been better in the latter category. He had the third-best forced incompletion rate (22 percent) in zone coverage among all corners who played at least 50 percent of the snaps in 2024.

Even in a down season last year, Gardner ranked 12th out of 107 cornerbacks in Pro Football Focus' grading in man coverage.

These are champagne problems for new Jets head coach Aaron Glenn and defensive coordinator Steve Wilks to work with. There was also so much chaos happening within the organization last year that it's not hard to imagine that impacting the way Gardner played.

If the biggest problem the Jets have to worry about in 2025 is their 24-year-old, two-time All-Pro cornerback getting back into peak form, they will probably be in good shape.