https://player.anyclip.com/anyclip-widget/lre-widget/prod/v1/src/lre.jsThe 2024 NFL season for New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner was not his best.
Even so, when your bar is set so high, you still end up among the top-tier… at least that’s how Pro Football Focus sees it.
The football analytics outlet has named their top-101 players from last season. Gardner was one of the first to appear, slotting in at No. 99 overall:
Top 101 NFL players from the 2024 season:
#99: CB Sauce Gardner
25.5% forced incompletion rate (1st) pic.twitter.com/K0mZReoKc9
— PFF (@PFF) February 17, 2025
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Entering his third year in the pros, Gardner was expected to be elite but fell a bit short of that. As the season rolled on, the 24-year-old improved.
In PFF’s same ranking a year ago, Gardner was at No. 33 overall so he did drop. The full context of Gardner having a “bad” campaign, and still earning at top-101 spot, is still impressive.
PFF’s final overall grade for Gardner last year was 70.2 overall. That slotted him in as the 32nd best cornerback in the NFL via their metrics out of 116 qualifying players.
In 15 games played, Gardner had one interception, nine passes defended, a sack, with 49 tackles including one for loss.
PFF’s full breakdown on Gardner can be found below:
While some inconsistency marred by penalties hindered the elite corner from notching a third-straight All-Pro nod, his talent is undeniable. Gardner finished the year ranked ninth among cornerbacks in advanced coverage grade, a credit to him charting in the 90th percentile in a variety of PFF’s stable cornerback metrics, including single coverage grade (93rd) and forced incompletion rate (99th).