Home | Articles | Film Room | Is there any way for NY Jets’ Sauce Gardner to improve in 2024?

Is there any way for NY Jets’ Sauce Gardner to improve in 2024?

Sauce Gardner, NY Jets, NFL, Film, Improve
Sauce Gardner, New York Jets, Getty Images

Sauce Gardner is already the best cornerback in the NFL

New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner is an NFL sensation. He’s already completed the unheard-of feat of becoming a first-team All-Pro in each of his first two seasons at corner. Fans of other teams love to hate on him, calling him overrated or the master of holding. Nonetheless, he’s one of the league’s biggest stars at an extremely difficult position.

Given all his accolades and his sterling play, it’s difficult to find areas where he can improve. Still, two particular ones show up on his film. If he can get better at these aspects of the game, he’ll ascend to another level, perhaps one not seen since the days of Darrelle Revis.

Tackling

Tackling was Gardner’s biggest issue in 2023. His 16.2% missed tackle rate ranked 68th out of 88 qualified cornerbacks (23rd percentile). It was an equally big issue in the passing game (15.9%) and run game (16.7%).

While it’s easy to overlook a cornerback’s tackling impact, Gardner had the sixth-most tackle opportunities (tackles + assists + missed tackles) on the Jets with 68. D.J. Reed had the fifth-most with 82. They may not be as important as the linebackers and safeties when it comes to tackling, but Gardner’s struggles with tackling were noticeable throughout Jets games.

Here are examples of plays where Gardner’s poor tackling caused a large gain instead of a moderate one.

To view the full subscriber-only breakdown, you must be a Jets X-Factor member and logged in.

Jets X-Factor Membership

Get Started with the button below to become a member:

Jets X-Factor Membership

Log In with the button below if you’re already a member:

Jets X-Factor Membership

Connect with the button below if you’d like to create a free account first:

Jets X-Factor Membership

Next Article

More Jet X

Subscribe to become a Jet X Member to unlock every piece of Jets X-Factor content (film breakdowns, analytics, Sabo with the Jets, etc.), get audio versions of each article, receive the ability to comment within our community, and experience an ad-free platform experience.

Sign up for Jet X Daily, our daily newsletter delivered to your inbox every morning at 8:00 a.m. ET.

Download the free Jet X Mobile App to get customizable notifications directly to your iOS (App Store) or Android (Google Play) device.

Follow us on X (Formerly Twitter) @jetsxfactor for all the latest New York Jets news, Facebook for even more, Instagram for some of the top NY Jets images, and YouTube for original Jets X-Factor videos and live streaming.

Add Jets X-Factor on Google News and/or find us on Apple News to stay updated on the New York Jets.

About the Author

Related Articles

Comments

Subscribe
Notify of
0 Comments
Newest
Oldest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments