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The Jets are 4-2, and Sauce Gardner is a big reason why
The image of rookie cornerback Sauce Gardner celebrating the New York Jets’ win over the Green Bay Packers, with the defender strutting around Lambeau Field with a cheesehead on, might be the lasting image from Week 6.
But make no mistake, Garner earned that moment thanks to a stellar performance on the field, one that has him among the top rookie defenders in the NFL, and bodes well for the Jets the rest of this season, and beyond.
According to charting data from Pro Football Focus, Gardner turned in an elite performance against the Packers Sunday. Gardner was targeted six times in the passing game, allowing a single reception for eight yards. He broke up three passes on the afternoon, and allowed an NFL Passer Rating of just 39.6.
That effort was on display early, as Aaron Rodgers targeted him with his first throw of the afternoon.
It went the way of the rookie:
Allen Lazard runs a slant route on the right side of the offense, working against Gardner who stands across from him in press alignment. Lazard releases off the line and stresses the cornerback to the outside, forcing the rookie to open his hips to the sideline. That is when the receiver cuts underneath Gardner on his slant route.
But Gardner not only changes directions quickly to match the route, but he uses his incredible length — his 33.5” arms placed him in the 97th percentile of cornerbacks according to MockDraftable — as a weapon. As Lazard makes his break, Gardner gets his hands on the receiver, keeping him in position to make a play on the football. Gardner does just that, using that length to break up the throw.
Consider this play from the second half, as Gardner breaks on a crossing route intended for Lazard. The Packers face a 3rd and 1 on this play, and use play-action to try and create space in the passing game. It works, as the Jets linebackers collapse downhill in response to the fake handoff. Gardner is playing off-man here, with outside leverage over Lazard.
That combination — the linebackers flowing downhill and Gardner conceding the inside off the snap — gives the Packers a huge advantage. But watch the closing speed from the rookie, and the length at the last moment:
Gardner closes down on Lazard in the blink of an eye, and gets his hands into the catch point to prevent the completion.
Emory Hunt, a brilliant football analyst, often uses the phrase “size is not a skill.” That is absolutely correct. Just because an athlete might be tall, or might be big, is not evidence that they have the skill to play a certain position, or play at a particular level.
But knowing how to use your size effectively for your position, and making that size a true weapon on the field, is a skill. And it is a skill that Gardner honed in college, and has mastered early in his NFL career. His length, and how he puts it to work, is a weapon for the Jets defense, whether disrupting a slant route or closing down on a crossing route.
One more play from Sunday illustrates this point, but also showcases how fluid Gardner moves for a man of his size. On this play he is again in off coverage, in zone against fellow rookie Romeo Doubs. Doubs releases off the right side and runs a curl route, but tries to sell Gardner first on a corner route, and then on a corner-post route, before breaking back to the football.
Watch how well Gardner mirrors the route, moving his feet and hips in sync with the receiver. Then, the length shows up again, as Gardner drives back to the catch point and tips the pass away:
This is elite-level cornerback play, and Gardner’s display on Sunday earned praise from a player he was compared to often last spring, and someone who knows a little about cornerback play:
While these plays are certainly impressive, some of Gardner’s best work Sunday might have come when Rodgers went elsewhere with the football, either by design or because the rookie forced him to a different read. On this play from the second quarter, Gardner again sticks on a crossing route from Lazard, who is working from right-to-left:
Again, you see that combination of length and athleticism, as Gardner mirrors the route with his speed — he posted a 4.41 in the 40-yard dash last winter at the Combine — and uses his length to keep a hand on Lazard during the play. He is not interfering with the receiver, or holding him, but he is keeping an ideal relationship to him on the route, and if Lazard quickly breaks or changes direction, that technique gives Gardner a chance to quickly match the cut.
Or take this play from the third quarter, as the Packers dial up a slant/flat combination on the right side of the formation. Rodgers opens to that combination, hoping to hit Doubs on the slant route thanks to the traffic created by the concept, but Gardner sticks to Doubs’ hip, forcing Rodgers to look elsewhere:
What does all of this mean for Robert Saleh and the Jets going forward?
It means they might have their island cornerback.
Gardner has shown early in his NFL career that the Jets can leave him on an island, in one-on-one situations against a team’s top receiving threat, and trust him to win more than his fair share of matchups. That is a huge benefit for a defense, allowing them to be creative with the rest of the matchups in the secondary.
It also gives the Jets the option of doing what other teams have done in the past, which is taking Gardner and putting him on the team’s second-most dangerous weapon, and then using brackets or dedicated safety help over the top of the offense’s most explosive receiver. This is something Bill Belichick would do at times, taking cornerbacks such as Stephon Gilmore, J.C. Jackson or even Darrell Revis during his year with the New England Patriots, and putting them on an island with the offense’s #2 receiver. Add in a bracket or safety help over the other threat, and you have a potentially long day for the opposing passer.
Either way, Gardner has given the Jets defense a huge boost early in his career, and with New York sitting at 4-2 right now, it could mean something more than just matchups in the secondary.
It could mean a surprising run to the playoffs.
