The previous New York Jets regime led by general manager Joe Douglas made some questionable draft picks during its six-year run, but selecting Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner 4th overall in the 2022 NFL Draft was one of the biggest homerun picks in franchise history. Gardner won Defensive Rookie of the Year in a landslide, taking 46 of 50 first place votes, while getting Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro nods in each of his first two seasons.
As was the case with most of the Jets roster, however, the 2024 season was a bit of a regression year for Gardner. For the first time in his young career, he did not take home a single accolade at the end of the season, not even a Pro Bowl nod. That had to be just as disappointing for Gardner as it was for the fans, if not more, but the good news is that the 2024 season was likely just a fluke in Gardner’s career and not a truly worrisome regression. As aforementioned, the entire team struggled in what proved to be a chaotic year, especially after the firing of former head coach Robert Saleh.
Luckily, the Jets are under new management as they prepare for the 2025 season. Former Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn is the head coach, and his defensive prowess should prove to be one heck of a boon for Gardner and the rest of the defense. Additionally, Glenn’s coaching staff is apparently pushing Gardner for perfection. At the very start of the offseason, new defensive coordinator Steve Wilks told Gardner that he expects a career year out of the young cornerback, Gardner told ESPN insider Rich Cimini. Wilks acknowledged Gardner’s greatness but demanded dominance week-in and week-out.
Gardner also told Cimini that he appreciates this kind of motivation from the new coaching staff. He got his NFL career off to an otherworldly hot start. He was the first rookie cornerback to be named a first-team All-Pro since 1981 and he is just the third defensive player in NFL history, after Lawrence Taylor and Micah Parsons, to be named a first-team All-Pro in each of his fist two seasons. Gardner realizes that this could create a sense of complacency for some players; this is a trap into which he refuses to fall.
That has to be exciting for Jets fans, especially since the Jets are currently working on big contract extensions for both Gardner and receiver Garrett Wilson. There’s a lot of unknowns about this new-look Jets team, from first-time head coach Aaron Glenn to fifth-year quarterback Justin Fields still looking for a breakout season, but one thing in New York appears to be written in stone: Gardner will continue to dominate his side of the field.
