New York Jets‘ cornerback Sauce Gardner has two All-Pro First Team selections to show for his first two NFL seasons, but he isn’t necessarily everyone’s cup of tea.
In fact, one current talent evaluator, participating in ESPN’s annual survey aimed at ranking the Top 10 players at 11 different positions, delivered some harsh criticism of Gardner’s game.
“One of the most overrated players in the league. You could call holding on him every play,” said the unnamed “high-ranking” team official via ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, who unveiled the Top 10 cornerbacks list on Thursday.
Gardner, who will turn 24 years old on August 31, was tabbed as the No. 3 overall cornerback ahead of the 2024 season, but he “gathered fewer top votes than he did after his rookie year” and at least one respondent omitted the Jets’ CB1 from the Top 10.
Denver Broncos‘ two-time Pro Bowler Patrick Surtain earned ESPN’s No. 1 overall ranking followed by Cleveland Browns‘ roster Denzel Ward in second.
While Gardner has built somewhat of a reputation for being a “handsy” defender, he has been charged with only two touchdowns allowed over his first 33 career games. He was infamously flagged for holding on a 3rd-and-20 late-game play against Kansas City Chiefs’ WR Marques Valdes-Scantling last season. The penalty extended the Chiefs’ game-winning drive.
Pro Football Focus, which offers analytics-based evaluations, deemed Gardner its highest-graded cornerback for the 2023 season. PFF concluded that Gardner limited opposing receivers to 15.6 yards per game on an average of 3.18 targets.
Earlier this offseason, The Sporting News named Gardner the New York’s “most important player not named Aaron Rodgers.”
Fellow Jets’ starting cornerback DJ Reed received votes in the survey, but not enough to qualify as an Honorable Mention. Gardner and Reed are expected to report to training camp in Florham Park on July 23.
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