What Did Sauce Gardner and Garrett Wilson Show on College Game Film?
Jets’ Sauce Gardner and Garrett Wilson did it.
Gardner won NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year honors. Wilson won NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honors.
Congratulations to both and kudos to New York’s General Manager Joe Douglas for selecting them in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
Pre-draft documented, I had Gardner ranked as my top cornerback and Wilson as my top wide receiver. It was so awesome to see both of these college superstars land in New York.
Was it easy to predict the success Gardner and Wilson would have as rookies in the NFL?
Yes.
Why?
It was easy because of the characteristics both showed on their college game film and connecting that to what it takes to succeed in the NFL.
If you wish to play along and have some fun, feel free to click on the YouTube game film cut-up links and see for yourself what Gardner and Wilson looked like playing in college, before the Jets picked them.
Sauce Gardner
2021 Cincinnati Bearcats' game film reviewed: Notre Dame, Indiana, Houston, Alabama, and UCF (jersey No. 1 at Cincinnati)
2022 Jets' rookie stat of note: 20 passes defended (1st in the NFL)
The prerequisite for first-round corners is having confidence and elite level straight line speed, short-area burst and athleticism.
Gardner checked all these boxes with ease, plus he had long arms that decreased the size of throwing windows for opposing quarterbacks.
Extraordinary ball skills is another coveted characteristic in corners, and that too is something Gardner displayed at the University of Cincinnati. Having great instincts is important as well, and yet again, that was something he additionally showed.
Gardner had this uncanny ability to always be able to "feel" where his receivers were at, without having to look for them. This allowed him to keep an aggressive eye on the opponent's backfield and see what the quarterback was up to, and where he was throwing the ball.
Having this gift is what makes Gardner the ballhawk that he is.
To go along with those long arms, having the ability to change direction quickly and match receivers at the route breakpoints is what lock-down corners are made of. Plus, Gardner added the short-area burst scouts look for. It's the thing playmakers are made of.
Confidence?
That is a super important trait elite corners have, and with Gardner you could just feel his confidence watching him out there. Confidence was spray painted all over his game film and his body language said, "Throw at me, I dare you."
Gardner was some of the easiest math I've ever done as an evaluator.
He reminded me of Hall of Fame corner Champ Bailey within the first five minutes of evaluating him. This is why I came out right after the draft and said Gardner would be the best cornerback in the NFL.
Garrett Wilson
2021 Ohio State Buckeyes' game film reviewed: Michigan State, Penn State, Oregon, and Purdue (jersey No. 5 at Ohio State)
2022 Jets' rookie stat of note: lead all rookie receivers with 83 catches and 1,103 yards (most by a Jets rookie in franchise history)
Scouts look for sure hands, agility to make quick changes of direction and the ability to pick up additional yardage after the catch in receivers.
In addition, they look for the kind of straight-line speed that can get deep and take the top off a defense, and short-area acceleration coming in and out of their route break-points.
Garrett checked all of these boxes, plus he had another thing scouts look for, and that's a good catch radius (ability to catch passes thrown high or low, passes that aren't on target).
Wilson showed all of that.
While watching him play there, Wilson just struck me as the perfect receiver for the Jets, especially with the accuracy issues their quarterback, Zach Wilson, had shown during the 2022 season leading up to the draft.
It was clear the Jets had to have a receiver who could catch all of those errant and off-target passes, as well as a receiver who could catch short passes that Zach Wilson excelled at throwing, and be able to turn them into longer gains.
It was a perfect fit, and has been ever since.
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