Jets rookie Sauce Gardner's secret to being lockdown corner: Confidence

Sauce Gardner felt as if he was starring in a movie.

He had just fulfilled a lifelong dream by being drafted by an NFL team, but his whirlwind night wasn’t close to being over: The young Jet had a jet to catch. 

Gardner, taken No. 4 overall by the Jets, hopped on Woody Johnson’s private jet in Las Vegas with other first-round picks Garrett Wilson and Jermaine Johnson. They talked about how they were going to help turn around the franchise as they were whisked to New York.

“We were talking about it a lot before we all fell asleep in the jet,” Gardner told Newsday. “It felt like a movie a little bit. That was my first time getting on a private jet. We just got on there with our families and we’re just chilling, like, ‘We really did this?' ”

The Jets earned high marks for their draft. Gardner was the prize pick, the lockdown corner that the Jets have needed for a long time. He has the size, length, right attitude and the mentality to be a difference- maker every time he steps on the field.

The 6-3, 200-pound Gardner wasn’t thrown at much during his college years. In three seasons at Cincinnati, he didn’t allow a single touchdown. That mark will be tested in the NFL, but Gardner isn’t too worried about it.

His main concern is doing what Jets coach Robert Saleh asks of him and help the franchise end the NFL's longest playoff drought of 11 seasons. 

“It would mean a lot,” Gardner said. “At Cincinnati, that’s how it was. I’m not trying to say I’m the reason it happened. At Cincinnati, when I got there it just turned around. We went to the college football playoffs. Nobody really expected it.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if that happened here. We got the talent. We got everybody buying in to what we want to happen. Everybody buying into the program that Coach Saleh is planning. I wouldn’t be surprised. That’s what’s expected out of us. They drafted us for a reason. They got the guys in free agency for a reason.”

Gardner has quickly impressed his coaches and his teammates. He earned the starting cornerback job alongside D.J. Reed, the veteran the Jets signed in free agency to be their No. 1 corner. Gardner has all the traits to be a No. 1 corner himself. 

He carries himself like a veteran with confidence and unwavering belief in himself. Gardner believes he “can be the best cornerback that’s ever played.” He talks a lot of trash when he’s on the field, but Gardner also is not too proud to ask questions of everyone around him to learn as much as he can.

“He’s that guy that’s constantly collecting information and then sprinting back to the locker room and writing it down,” defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich said. “He’s just building this database right now. He’s got a bright future in this league. The physical tools are obvious. The DNA of the man is special, too. He’s got to keep working, but we all think very, very highly of him in this building, what he can become.”

His teammates do too.

Veteran safety LaMarcus Joyner said Gardner’s confidence stands out and “he backs it up.” Joyner loves the way Gardner goes about his business.

“There’s a difference between being arrogant and cocky, and confident,” Joyner said. “Confidence is coming to work every day just believing in yourself. He’s not with the extra stuff. He just believes that he can play and he belongs. He’s ready to prove it.”

Gardner’s position coach, Tony Oden, said the rookie has all the physical and mental tools to be a special player. Oden also described some “rare” things that Gardner possesses that could make it “a little more problematic for receivers to get open.”

Oden said bigger corners with Gardner’s size and speed don’t often have the transitional skills of “a small corner” like he has. Gardner is able to “close that gap pretty quickly” if a receiver does get open against him. 

“You have to be very precise and very accurate in your targeting when you’re going after him,” Oden said. “Those are the unique characteristics that he has. Plus, he’s hungry, he’s smart, he wants to learn. He can conceptually grasp things pretty quickly and make an immediate change.”

Oden said Gardner quickly makes in-game corrections when necessary. Being that type of “problem solver” gives him and this Jets’ defense an advantage.

This is just the beginning for Gardner, the start of his own personal movie. He is the star of it and could turn out to be the game-changer and difference-maker the Jets have needed at such an important position.

“That means a lot,” Gardner said. “There’s no pressure, though. I just go out there and do what I’m taught to do, make sure I’m prepared well leading up to the game. The results speak for themselves.”

By Al Iannazzone

al.iannazzone@newsday.comAl_Iannazzone

Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.