Jets' draft class of 2022 doing special things so far
Sauce Gardner of the New York Jets intercepts a pass during the second quarter intended for River Cracraft of the Miami Dolphins at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, Oct. 9, 2022. Credit: Jim McIsaac
They are a bunch of pals and co-workers in their early 20s, navigating their way through a new job in a new environment.
So naturally the Jets’ rookies have bonded, from group chats to pregame huddles to, when all goes well, shared success on the field.
That it did on Sunday, in the form of a 40-17 rout of the Dolphins at MetLife Stadium. Sure, it was a rosterwide effort, but given what the franchise is trying to build, it was impossible not to notice that first-year players played an outsized role.
It began on the Dolphins’ first play from scrimmage, when coordinator Jeff Ulbrich unleashed cornerback Sauce Gardner on a blitz that forced an intentional-grounding penalty in the end zone that produced a safety and knocked Miami quarterback Teddy Bridgewater out of the game.
Gardner later added his first career interception.
But Gardner, the No. 4 overall pick in 2022, was not even the biggest rookie star of the day. That was the 36th pick, Breece Hall, who had 100 receiving yards and 97 rushing yards, set up two touchdowns and scored a third.
What about No. 10 pick Garrett Wilson? He had a modest three receptions but made one of the game’s biggest plays when he caught a third-and-1 pass in the fourth quarter to extend the drive on which the Jets went ahead by nine points.
There is more where they came from, including defensive end Jermaine Johnson, who left Sunday’s game with an ankle injury; Lindenhurst’s own Jeremy Ruckert at tight end and promising offensive tackle Max Mitchell, currently on injured reserve.
The Jets have other good young players, such as Zach Wilson, a second-year quarterback who is all of 23. But the rookies are creating a special connection.
“We say we have to set the tone,” Gardner said. “We’ve got to change the culture. I feel like we did. They brought us in there to help change the culture and I think we’re doing a very good job.”
Gardner said that before a game, some rookies huddle up and “just talk about how we’re about to dominate the game. And we always end up doing just that.”
Asked about the rookies’ impact, Hall said: “We were actually just talking about that during the game. We were like, Bro, we’re so good. We have so much potential to be so good. We’ve just got to keep chipping away at it.
“After the draft, Garrett hit me up, Sauce FaceTimed me and Jermaine called me. I was training for the Combine with Sauce and Jermaine at the same facility, so we had been with each other for a few months.
“We never talked about what if we all got drafted to the same team? And it ends up happening. That was just a really crazy experience. Now we talk about it like, Bro, we could be so good. ”
The veterans have noticed.
“Just across the board, we have playmakers, playmakers that are young guys,” guard Laken Tomlinson said. “When you have guys like that as driving factors on the team, there’s no telling how far this team can go.”
That is the big question now that the Jets are a surprising 3-2.
“It’s still going to be a roller coaster,” coach Robert Saleh said. “I think it’s clear to anyone who watches our tape that we’ve got a really cool nucleus of young men that are only going to get better as time goes on.
“It’s got a chance to be a really explosive group . . . The challenges for this group do not stop, but it’s fun to watch them play, especially when they play so free.”
Watching Gardner has been particularly fun for fans.
Five minutes after that early forced safety, he was penalized 34 yards for interfering with the Dolphins’ Tyreek Hill.
How did he feel he did overall against the star receiver? “I feel like I did pretty good,” he said. “Probably got the same challenge as anybody else going against Tyreek: He’s fast.”
Midway through the second quarter, he intercepted Dolphins rookie third-stringer Skylar Thompson for his first career pick.
“It was a blessing,” said Gardner, who noted during the week that he was the only starting defensive back without one. “I think God heard me. I know he heard me, for sure. He answered my prayers, for sure.”
Five games in, the Class of 2022 is answering Jets fans’ prayers. The trick now is to keep it going.
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.
