A few minutes after he was picked by the New York Jets, Sauce Gardner was doing a media interview in Las Vegas when he saw a man walk out to the stage. He was wearing a Jets cap.
"Oh, yeah, this is going to be crazy," he said to himself.
At 8:44 p.m., he was drafted fourth. On April 28th. Wilson was picked with the tenth pick.
Just like that, the Jets added two former college stars who would become the most dynamic players on their team, a 6-foot-3 Cornerback and a wide receiver who can separate better than church and state. The Jets found two rookies in a 41 minute period.
They take a three-game losing streak into Thursday night's game against the Jacksonville Jags. The Jets know they hit the daily double in the draft.
The only teammates since the 1970 merger to win the awards in the same year were the New Orleans Saints and New York Giants, and they were both offensive and defensive rookies. They did it last year.
If you told me 15 years ago that Sauce was the best Jets defensive back of all time, I'd say that he was probably right. You can see how good it is. You can see the mindset.
What happened in Vegas did not stay in Vegas for a long time. They were escorted by the Jets to New Jersey the next day. Three newcomers flew on a private jet, in different ways.
They talked about the great things they would do together while chopping it up. Wilson, who was so tired that he wore a sleep mask for the first time in his life, passed out on the plane because there was no food or water. It was a hard night of feelings.
It felt like a dream in the moment. Imagine that you just heard your name and your family is happy. The next chapter in your life begins on a private jet. It made me feel like a movie.
It was a big hit.
The two rookies have made a smooth transition to the league. Wilson has 67 catches and 962 receiving yards. The Philadelphia Eagles' James Bradberry has allowed a completion rate of less than 50% as the nearest defender, second only to theGardner has allowed only a completion rate of less than 50% as the nearest defender, second only to thePhiladelphia Eagles' James Bradberry has allowed only a completion rate of
The Jets haven't had a 1,000-yard receiver since 2015, when Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker did it. They haven't had a shutdown corner since 2010.
"You have a guy like Sauce, who cherishes these moments to go against guys like Ja'Marr Chase and all the other guys that he and D.J. Reed have had to play, and you also have a guy like Sauce, who cherishes these moments to go against guys like He's just flourishing. The ball should be thrown 90 times a game. You want guys who want to play.
The Jets haven't had a rookies selected to the Pro Bowl since 1988 and this is a nice accomplishment for the franchise. It was a few days before the announcement that he was aware of the 34 year dry spell. He said that it would be crazy to end it.
He grinned.
He wants to make history. I always think that way. I'm not sure what I'm going to do, but I'm trying to make history.
At Cincinnati, he wanted to be the highest-drafted player in program history. He looked at it. He wasn't given a starting job when he joined the Jets, but that didn't deter him from thinking big. He wants to win the defensive rookies of the year.
It would mean a lot to him. When we're in the moment, we just think about winning, even though we want to accomplish so many things. Winning games are more important than anything else. It would be big to get that done.
He doesn't get tested much by opposing teams because he's rarified air for a rookies. He wasn't targeted on a single one of his 38 coverage snaps last Sunday by the Detroit Lions, tying for the fourth-most coverage snaps without a target by an outside corner since the beginning of the year.
He talked to his hometown friends in Detroit and predicted a pick-six. He was sad that he didn't get a chance because he wanted to make a bigger impact.
His impact was still significant. Half of the field was eliminated by him.
He doesn't care about metrics that show how good he is. He doesn't know a lot about the numbers. I want to dominate whoever is next to me.
The same mindset was developed by Wilson at his position. He identified a wide receiver role model from the video of Jefferson.
Wilson said he wanted to be like him after watching him as a rookies. I would like to have an impact on the game like he is. You would like to chase the ones that are the best. At the position, he's been the best. I hope I can get up there eventually.
Wilson had a big game against the Vikings on December 4. Jefferson said he's fun to watch.
This looks easy because Wilson is making it that way. He has reached 95 receiving yards in five games, one of only 10 rookies who can do that this season. He has a franchise record for catches and yards by a first year player.
Wilson had a brief period of growth pains in the summer. He didn't make the plays he was supposed to. He was thrown into a mini-fight.
He said that it really hurt him.
By the start of the season, he was a revelation with his route running, body control and ability to separate from defenders at the top of his route. C.J. Mosley said that Wilson's moves were college-like.
Wilson has been a factor in almost every game since he caught a game-winning touchdown in Week 2. He has not been hampered by a slot to split end. He has produced more yards than Jefferson over the last four weeks.
Is that the dropped-pass problem? Wilson has not won a game in the last eight.
His displays of frustration on the field need to be checked. He threw up his arms after a bad pass by Wilson. Wilson embraced the quarterback on the sideline after the game. He's getting better.
He has that emotion and swagger in his genes. Wilson wanted everyone to know that the guy loves playing football. The same thing happens withGardner. They have the same chill vibe around the locker room. When they were rookies in New Orleans, the same qualities were seen by Rankins.
There was never a time when either of those guys were starstruck. They didn't look across the line and say, "Oh, my God, that's Julio Jones!" He never said, "Oh, my God, that'sLuke Kuechly!" They weren't going to be robbed of the chance to be good. You can see the same thing with Sauce andGarrett.
A franchise that has made a lot of draft mistakes got it right with some of them. The Jets lacked star power for a long time. The void could be filled byGardner and Wilson.
They are going to take the torch from us. They're the future, that's what I'm saying.
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