Jets take Cincinnati CB Gardner at No. 4
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — The New York Jets are adding some Big Apple Sauce to their defense.
Cincinnati cornerback Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner was taken by the Jets with the No. 4 overall pick in the NFL draft Thursday night.
The 6-foot-2, 190-pound shutdown cornerback didn’t allow a touchdown reception in his three-year college career. He’ll join free agent signing D.J. Reed to give coach Robert Saleh a new-look secondary — with both considered No. 1-type cornerbacks.
Gardner, wearing a diamond-encrusted “SAUCE” medallion and an equally gaudy sauce bottle on a chain around his neck at the draft site in Las Vegas, oozes confidence on and off the field. New York can only hope he can be as dominant a defender as their previous homegrown shutdown cornerback: Darrelle Revis, who went 14th overall in 2007.
The Jets also have the 10th overall pick — the first time in franchise history they have two selections in the top 10. New York also has four picks in the first 38 selections, so it will be a busy first two nights of the draft for a franchise looking to end the NFL’s longest active playoff drought at 11 seasons.
This is considered a crucial draft for general manager Joe Douglas, who is overseeing his third full offseason after being hired in June 2019 to replace the fired Mike Maccagnan. The Jets have won only six games the past two seasons, but showed some positive signs last season under first-year head coach Saleh and rookie quarterback Zach Wilson.
The focus this offseason has been on the progress of Wilson, who capped a down-and-up year by not throwing an interception in his final five games. Sur
rounding last year’s No. 2 overall pick with playmakers has been a priority for Douglas and the Jets, who signed tight ends C.J. Uzomah and Tyler Conklin,
and guard Laken Tomlinson in free agency.
Wide receiver is likely to be a target early in this draft, perhaps even at No. 10.
But first, the Jets addressed their defense, which struggled mightily last season. Defensive coordinator
Jeff Ulbrich’s unit ranked last or close to the bottom of the league in several statistical categories. Edge rusher and cornerback were considered priorities for New York in the draft, and Gardner addresses that need in a major way.