National Football League

Jets head coach Robert Saleh on Sauce Gardner: 'Keep trying him'

Updated Oct. 26, 2022 7:51 p.m. ET

New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh has a message to the rest of the NFL about cornerback Sauce Gardner – keep trying him.

Saleh was asked Wednesday how the standout rookie from Cincinnati compares to past star cornerbacks that he has coached, particularly Richard Sherman, who was on the San Francisco 49ers when Saleh was the defensive coordinator there.

Jets' youth movement, Von Miller's continued dominance & more!

Check out this weeks edition of "Peter Schrager's Cheat Sheet."

"It's funny, Saleh said. "I was talking about how Sherm, if he ever reached 18 mph [running speed], it was a rough day for him because no one ever threw his way because of his presence. It was like he just watched football the whole game.

"The challenge to [Sauce] is to go take the ball away, and he'll have a bunch of days like that too where he's not having to defend [end-zone passes]. And he's going to. He's so freaking close."

Saleh then raised his gaze from the media seated directly in front of his podium and addressed the camera recording his press conference — and, seemingly, the other 31 teams in the NFL.

"Keep trying him."

Trying Gardner has not worked out well so far for opposing NFL offenses. The Jets are off to a surprising 5-2 start to the 2022 season thanks in large part to several standout young players, including Gardner.

The fourth overall pick of the 2022 NFL Draft has a superb 81.2 overall grade at Pro Football Focus so far this season, allowing just 17 completions on 40 passes thrown his way with an NFL-high 10 forced incompletions. He also leads the NFL with 12 passes defensed.

Gardner is already earning the respect of opposing offenses. Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson called Denver Broncos star Pat Surtain a "top-two" cornerback in the NFL during his own media availability Wednesday ahead of the Jaguars' matchup with the Broncos in London. When asked if Gardner was the other cornerback on that two-man tier, Pederson smiled and paused before nodding his head and answering yes.

Gardner was also named AFC Defensive Player of the Week Wednesday after a stellar performance in the Jets' 16-9 win over the Broncos in Week 7. Needless to say, the Jets rookie is currently living up to the immense hype that made him a top-five overall pick.

"You put so much work in these young men to validate what you see, and knock on wood, he's only going to get better," Saleh said. "He's only scratching the surface."