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| Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner. |
With the 4th overall pick, the Jets selected cornerback Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner, who was considered by most the best cornerback during the pre-draft process, but surprising to most, fellow cornerback Derek Stingley, Jr., one whose name started to rise on draft charts was taken one spot ahead of him by the Houston Texans.
At 6-2, weighing around 190 pounds, he has pretty good size for a cornerback, he’s physical, and thrives in man coverage. He never gave up a touchdown in his collegiate career, which is not an easy task. Some will argue that the conference his team played in wasn’t as competitive as say, the SEC—which I think is part of the reason why Stingley, Jr., who played at LSU (an SEC college) went before him—but to me, I think that argument is overblown sometimes.
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| Gardner (1, in the white uniform). Photo Credit: Matthew Visinsky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images. |
If a person can play, they can play, it doesn't (always) matter what conference they came from. To me, aside from quarterback, cornerback is the hardest position to play in football and to never give up a touchdown is an amazing feat, regardless of what level of football.
Going back to the conference competition argument, Jerry Rice came from Mississippi Valley State, a small college, and he turned out to be a Hall-of-Famer, and in my opinion, the best receiver I’ve ever seen play. As I mentioned in the above paragraph, sometimes, if a person can play, they play, where they played doesn’t always matter.
Now, him being able to keep that streak of not giving up a touchdown in the pros will be a tall freaking task, but some of the best to ever play the position got beat at times. It happens. The thing is you don’t want it to happen often. However, he strikes me as the type who has the confidence to bounce back and won’t allow adversity to affect him.
Overall, I think the Jets found a gem in Gardner. Honestly, I wanted Kayvon Thibodeaux (who was picked after Gardner 5th overall by the Giants), but I like the pick, nonetheless. The only glaring knock on him was he can be too aggressive, but time and discipline will remedy some of that. I don't want him to lose his aggressive edge altogether, but be smart about it at the same time. Of course, it’s too soon to determine, but I think the Jets might have drafted one of the greatest to ever play the position.
Grade: A
Garrett Wilson, WR, Ohio State
With the 10th overall pick, the Jets selected wide receiver Garrett Wilson from Ohio State. I honestly thought he would go to the Atlanta Falcons at No. 8, but when he didn’t, I knew exactly where he was going. I said his name before (NFL Commissioner) Roger Goodell officially announced it at the podium. This wasn’t the last time I said someone’s name before Goodell officially announced it.
I think the Jets could use another guy, particularly a playmaker, at that spot, but I don’t think they were “needy” at that spot as a lot of people claimed. There’s Corey Davis, an up-and-coming Elijah Moore, Braxton Berrios proved to be productive in the receiving and return game. So while one more guy doesn’t hurt, I don’t think they desperately needed someone at that position.
I was a bigger fan of Chris Olave (his former teammate who went to the New Orleans Saints at No. 11), however, most considered Wilson the best receiver in this year’s class. I think he has decent height at 6-1, a light frame, but he plays bigger than his size at times. Also known for his acrobatic-type athleticism, he has a penchant for the catching the ball away from his body in some of the most unusual ways. This drew one commentator to compare him to Hall-of-Famer Lynn Swann.
Overall, I like the pick. He’s a dynamic playmaker, and to an extent, you can never have enough playmakers. I think the chemistry between Garrett Wilson and (Jets quarterback) Zach Wilson will be fun to watch.
Grade: A
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| Jermaine Johnson, II. Photo courtesy of seminoles.com. |
Jermaine Johnson, II, DE, Florida State
With their two picks selected, I thought they were done for the night, but after a while I left, came back and noticed the Jets were on the clock at No. 26. When I noticed that Jermaine was still on the board, I said his name before Goodell officially announced it.
What stands out to me with this move is the shrewdness of (Jets GM) Joe Douglas. In most cases, when you trade back into the first round, 9 times out of 10 you’re going to give up a first round pick for next year, but he didn’t. All he gave up was a second, a third, and a fifth, while getting a third in return. Who he picked with that third I’ll discuss in the next post.
Jermaine was someone the Jets coveted—obviously, they traded back into the first round to get him. From my understanding, he was between a top 5-10 prospect on some boards. He was the ACC Defensive Player of the Year and was a First-Team All-ACC. Since Douglas didn’t draft Thibodeaux, I consider this a rebound move, a good rebound, by the way.
Jermaine’s speed, aggression, and ferocity will fit right in with (Jets head coach) Robert Saleh’s system that demands a lot of the defensive lineman.
Grade: A+
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