Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner was named a first-team All-Pro after his rookie season and he repeated that feat this year to become the first cornerback and the third defensive player to pull that off in his first two years in the NFL.
During a Thursday visit to PFT Live on Radio Row at the Super Bowl in Las Vegas, Gardner shared which of the two years was the better one in his eyes.
“I would say this year,” Gardner said. “I feel like I wasn’t targeted as much. That’s respect that the offensive coordinators, coaches, quarterbacks have for me. I feel like I learned way more after my rookie season, so I went into Year Two knowing more so I was more confident each and every game.”
The Jets have not been able to find the same amount of collective success that Gardner has achieved individually over the last two years and he said he believes “everybody buying in” is the key to changing that next season. Gardner thinks they have the right coach for the job in Robert Saleh, who he said “always gets us prepared” for games before adding that it is on the players to execute.
That hasn’t been Gardner’s issue, but his teammates will need to follow suit in order for the Jets’ long run without a postseason berth to come to an end.
