PRO COMPARISON: Richard Sherman, free agent
Richard Sherman … with a longer wingspan and superior straight-line speed.
Sauce stands 6-foot-2 3/4, but his wingspan is 79 3/8 inches. That wingspan is about 4.5 inches greater than his height, which is a significant difference. (Think of 2 inches as a difference that would typically get scouts excited about a prospect’s “long arms.”) Gardner’s arm length is 33 1/2 inches. To compare, back at the 2011 NFL Scouting Combine, Sherman measured 6-foot-3 with 32-inch arms. Why so much emphasis on arms? Well, long arms can be more disruptive to wideouts from the line of scrimmage to the catch point. And if a corner is burned or out of position in terms of hip alignment, long arms can make up a fraction of a second in coverage. That sounds minimal, but it can mean the difference between a pass breakup and a catch (or penalty). Gardner posted three interceptions in each of this three seasons at Cincinnati, impressive (and strikingly consistent) ball production for a cornerback who was tested less and less as his star rose. Even more remarkable: According to Pro Football Focus, Sauce didn’t give up a single touchdown pass in his college career. Over 1,000 coverage snaps and zero TDs allowed!
While Sherman ran a 4.54 40-yard dash at the combine, Gardner checked in at a swift 4.41. Furthermore, Computer Vision shows that Gardner’s speed and ability to turn his hips to adjust to routes rank in the 99th percentile of all corners who are at least 6-2 in my 20-season sample. Sherman ranks in the 93rd percentile in this same metric. Antonio Cromartie — another multi-time Pro Bowler — also comes up as a comp for Gardner, though he only ranked in the 80th percentile in game speed when turning his hips.
TEAM FIT: New York Jets
The Jets, who hold a pair of top-10 picks (Nos. 4 and 10), just ranked 30th in passing yards allowed (259.4) and 31st in passer rating allowed (103.2) last season. Did I mention the D also ranked dead last in total yards and total points allowed? Robert Saleh needs more difference-makers on that side of the ball. Sauce definitely fits the bill. PFF’s college grading goes back to 2014, and in that time span, they’ve recorded just 13 instances of an FBS corner allowing a sub-40 passer rating for a season. Gardner accounts for three of them. His career college passer rating allowed: a miniscule 31.8, which led the FBS from 2019 through 2021 (min. 100 targets).
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