Jets' Sauce Gardner disrespected in ESPNs CB rankings

The New York Jets made Sauce Gardner the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history this week. General manager Darren Mougey inked Gardner to a four-year extension worth $120.4 million. The All-Pro CB will earn a league-leading $30.1 million on average per season.

Coincidentally, ESPN released their cornerback position rankings after Gardner signed his extension. The list is the result of composite rankings, concluded by polling more than 70 anonymous coaches, executives, and scouts around the league. Gardner was arguably disrespected, coming in at No. 5, behind Pat Surtain II, Derek Stingley Jr., Denzel Ward, and Trent McDuffie.

Gardner should have earned a top-three spot alongside Surtain II and Stingley Jr.

Execs, coaches, scouts rank top 10 corners:

*’Complete package’ Surtain nearly 90% of 1st-place votes.
*Gardner most polarizing. Did he get ‘too much, too soon?’
*Gonzalez closest thing to Surtain
*Ramsey had a great run
*Mitchell strong debuthttps://t.co/jJogrhOrPQ

— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) July 17, 2025

“Gardner remains one of the more polarizing players in the league,” ESPNs Jeremy Fowler summarized. “He reached superstardom as a rookie, wasting no time entering the conversation for the NFL’s best cornerback. He made back-to-back All-Pro teams from 2022-23, but some evaluators have had problems with his play for the past two seasons.”

“Needs a bounce-back year in 2025,” a veteran AFC personnel staffer said. “Lots of missed tackles and penalties and didn’t make many plays last year. Too much, too soon and thought the NFL was easy.”

Gardner’s Pro Football Focus defensive grade of 70.2 in 2024 was significantly lower than his 2022 (87.9) and 2023 (88.6) grades. PFF credited him with allowing 25 receptions on 47 targets for 391 yards and one touchdown. Those are stellar numbers for a cornerback tasked with covering No. 1 receivers every single week. Gardner was whistled with 10 penalties and 10 missed tackles.

“The Jets are hoping their new defense, with coach Aaron Glenn and coordinator Steve Wilks asking him to play more man coverage, will bring out his best,” Fowler concluded. “He’ll be asked to do a lot after signing a four-year, $120.4-million extension this week.”

It’ll be worth monitoring Gardner’s usage and production in Glenn’s defense this season. The league clearly believes he needs a bounce-back year to fully reform his reputation.

The full top-10 cornerback rankings can be found below: