FLORHAM PARK, N.J. – New York Jets’ star cornerback Sauce Gardner, who is also the highest-paid player at his position in the NFL, will take on an additional responsibility this season.
Gardner takes on the role of “traveler”
In the recent Jets’ defeat against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Gardner dedicated himself to closely following wide receiver DK Metcalf. According to Next Gen Stats statistics, Gardner was paired with Metcalf on 30 of 34 passing plays. For Gardner, this was an unprecedented assignment in his career, a challenge he had always desired.Coach Aaron Glenn praised Gardner’s performance against Metcalf, calling it “outstanding.” He also added that it won’t be the last time the two-time All-Pro is tasked with covering the opposing team’s star receiver.“My job was simply to eliminate number 4 when I was covering him,” Gardner stated, who achieved two pass breakups and limited Metcalf to an 11-yard reception. “I feel like I covered him well. But we have to win.”
Sauce Gardner
In recent years, the question arose among fans and the media: Why not allow Gardner to cover the opponent’s best receiver, as was done with Darrelle Revis in 2009? The previous coach, Robert Saleh, employed a zone-based system and believed it worked best when cornerbacks were assigned to a side, not a specific player. The Jets’ defense remained among the top 4 in yards allowed from 2022 to 2024, indicating that something was working. Glenn and his technical team have a different philosophy. Gardner, who signed a four-year, $120.4 million extension before training camp, supports this strategy.“We’ll ask him to do that on several occasions,” Glenn said, referring to Gardner. “It will depend heavily on the matchup.”
Aaron Glenn
“I liked it,” he said on Sunday. “I’m competitive. The coaching staff is full of guys who played in the league, so it’s not a surprise.”
Sauce GardnerWith a slight smile, Gardner added: “I feel like every time I was with [Metcalf], he knew what was up.” Glenn, who played cornerback for 15 years, recalled several occasions in his career when he was tasked with covering the opposing team’s best receiver. The coaching staff also includes Dre’ Bly, former cornerback, as assistant secondary coach, and Chris Harris, former safety, as pass game coordinator. “It makes things much easier for the defender because he can study and focus on the player he’s facing, and I know that’s exactly what Sauce did,” Glenn explained. “There will be some games where we’ll want him to do that, and there will be others where we’ll say: ‘Play on the right or the left’. “I think Sauce did an outstanding job challenging DK. It’s a difficult cover, I’m telling you that, because there are many other things that go into that matchup, like the run game. I think they saw Sauce doing a very good job as well in terms of his adjustment against the run.” The only reception by Metcalf against Gardner was an 11-yard play with less than three minutes remaining, which set up Chris Boswell’s game-winning 60-yard field goal. However, it was a fortunate reception, as Metcalf (with four receptions for 83 yards) caught a deflected ball while on the ground. Despite this, Gardner lamented the result.“I was furious,” he said. “When you’re competitive and you have the job of following someone, you don’t want them to catch the ball at all. It just so happened that it was his only reception and it was the one that got them closer to field goal range. I didn’t like it. I didn’t like it at all.”
Sauce Gardner
