New York Jets Star Sauce Gardner Gets Real About Legendary Comparison

Sauce Gardner received a major comparison to a New York Jets legend recently.

New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner (1) catches the ball during warmups before the Jets take on the New England Patriots at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023, in East Rutherford. / Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com /

The New York Jets are absolutely stacked with talent on both sides of the football heading into the 2024 NFL season. On the defensive side of the ball, Sauce Gardner has become one of the best cornerbacks in the league. He's expected to be even better this season than he was last year.

Gardner has become one of the best coverage corners in the NFL. He has shown the ability to shut down top wide receivers. It has been awhile since the Jets had one of those shutdown players.

Some years back, Darrelle Revis was one of the best cornerbacks in the game. He formed what was affectionately called "Revis Island" due to his elite coverage skills.

Recently, Gardner was compared to the legendary New York cornerback. Some see a very clear comparison between Gardner and Revis.

In a recent interview, Gardner spoke out about the comparison and somewhat shut it down. He did so with respect. Gardner stated that he is a much different player than Revis, but also cautioned that he has not done with Revis did throughout his career just yet.

Sauce on being compared to Darrelle Revis@iamSauceGardner | @JOEL9ONE pic.twitter.com/9tocleRRHE

— Green Light with Chris Long (@greenlight) June 9, 2024

No one can fault Gardner for not being a big fan of comparisons. He's his own player and he's forging his own path. It's also difficult to compare players who are simply different players.

Throughout his first two NFL campaigns, Gardner has put up impressive production. He has recorded 132 total tackles to go along with a forced fumble, two interceptions, and 32 defended passes. Averaging 16 pass breakups per season in the first two years of his career is insane.

At 23 years old, Gardner hasn't even reached the prime of his career. He hasn't even come close to reaching his full potential. That alone is a scary thought for opposing quarterbacks.

Is it fair to compare Gardner to Revis when simply talking about their game? Probably not, but there is one way to compare them. They both are elite and have made opposing offenses think twice about throwing their direction.

Being able to force an offense to change their game plan simply because of the presence of one player is a massive game-changing ability. Very few defensive backs have that ability.

All of that being said, it will be interesting to see what Gardner has in store for the Jets in his third NFL season. Can he taken an even bigger leap and become a bigger star? That seems likely, but we'll just have to wait and see what he's able to accomplish in 2024.