Sauce Gardner says new Jets coaches trying to get ‘perfection’ out of him is what he needs

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) - Sauce Gardner is trying to cook up an even better version of himself this season for the New York Jets.

And the star cornerback’s new defensive coordinator is pushing him to get there.

"It's so many things that I feel like Sauce can do," Steve Wilks said during the Jets' three-day minicamp this week. "Again, the word 'consistent.' He's been a Pro Bowl player. How consistent can he be to take it to another level? And that's one of the things that I challenged him Day 1 when we had our conversation."

Gardner saw Wilks’ comments and appreciated them.

"He was talking about me just being the same each and every week, and that’s borderline perfect," Gardner said Thursday. "I know I’m not perfect, but the fact that he’s trying to get perfection out of me is what I need."

Gardner was the No. 4 overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft out of Cincinnati and established himself as one of the league’s top cornerbacks during his first two seasons with the Jets, which included being selected the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year and making the All-Pro team in consecutive years for then-coach Robert Saleh and defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich.

But after what has been perceived by some as a down season - he didn’t make the All-Pro or Pro Bowl teams - Gardner is out to prove his naysayers wrong.

"I feel like it's always been noise surrounding me after each of my years that I've played," he said. "I've always been like the underdog."

And Wilks and new coach Aaron Glenn are helping provide the motivation.

"The last thing I need is a new regime to come in here and just allow me to be complacent," Gardner said. "Not saying that’s who I am, but it’s just great to have those types of guys that’s going to demand a lot out of me and just push me in ways that I've never been pushed before."

Gardner’s first two seasons had some comparing him to Pro Football Hall of Famer Darrelle Revis in the way teams had to be wary whenever they threw the football in his direction. Some of Gardner’s critics, though, said he often got away with holding receivers and his coverage last season slipped. Also, Gardner had just one interception and a career-low nine passes defensed.

"I feel like I played pretty smooth," Gardner said. "After all of my years, I always think there are things I can be better on. But it’s never as bad as people try to paint it to be.”

The analytics site Pro Football Focus supports Gardner’s assessment, giving him a 91.9 coverage grade since 2022 that leads the league. His 46 forced incompletions are an NFL best in that span, as is his 0.60 yards per cover snap.

"I felt like, and you guys feel the same way, that he's one of the top corners in the league, but that consistency of being that dominant player each and every week, that's what we're looking for and that's been his challenge this offseason," Wilks said. “He's very gifted and I told him sometimes your greatest strength is your greatest weakness. He's a guy that sometimes that 85% is still better than everybody around him.

"So his thing is, and I told him, compete against yourself. That's where he has to get better, which he will."

Glenn and new general manager Darren Mougey believe Gardner is a foundation piece for the franchise, which is why the Jets picked up the fifth-year option on his rookie contract. Gardner is in line for an extension - he declined to say whether he wants to be the league’s highest-paid cornerback - and opted to participate in mandatory minicamp rather than hold out to try to push for a new deal.

"My main focus is being the best football player I could be," he said. "But my team and the Jets have been talking and I feel pretty good about how the talks have been going."

The same for those talks Gardner has been having with Glenn and Wilks about his business on the field.

"Here’s what I want Sauce to do and here’s what I’ve talked to him about who he needs to be," said Glenn, a three-time Pro Bowl pick during his playing days as a cornerback. “When you do lead, just let your influence do all the talking. Like, how do you operate in the huddle with the players, in the locker room That speaks more than the rah-rah guy.

"And he understands that because influence to me is what really leadership is about. Like, how do you influence your other teammates? How do you influence people around you no matter what? And I think he's done a really good job of that."