Garrett Wilson, Sauce Gardner lay down gauntlet on training camp battles with each other

On3 imageby:Alex Weber06/02/22

One of the top receivers in the 2022 NFL Draft will spar with one of the top corners in Jets practices this offseason. New York held two of the top 10 picks in this past draft and used them to take Cincinnati cornerback Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner and Ohio State wideout Garrett Wilson.

With training camp underway, these two young studs will be locking horns everyday in practice. When asked what he expects from practice battles against Wilson, Gardner snatched the microphone to respond: “I would say real competitive.”

“At the end of the day, we have the same goal,” he continued. “We wanna win.” In order to do that they’ll need to “keep making each other better. Iron sharpens iron.”

Wilson commented that Sauce “is gonna push me to be my best and I’m gonna try to push him to be his best. That’s where greatness comes from and that’s what we’re gonna try to bring out of each other.”

Gardner and Wilson join quarterback Zach Wilson and offensive tackle Mekhi Becton as top-10 picks in the last three Jets drafts. Yes, that means they’ve been bad for several years in a row now. That recent failure meant high picks for NYJ. Which they used to select cornerstone players at premium positions. Future could be bright in New York.

Sauce Gardner, Jermaine Johnson, Garrett Wilson discuss being Jets’ first round picks

As a rookie, coming into the pros can be overwhelming. There’s a lot of things rookies have to learn early both on and off the field. Wilson, the 10th pick, says having other players in the same boat as him should help him carry the load.

“(It’s a blessing) to come in and having two other dudes doing the same thing to take some of the pressure off,” he said.

Jets fans have to love the chemistry their 2022 draft class is already showing. After the draft, all three spoke highly of each other and their newfound opportunity to play with one another. Johnson, who New York selected 26th, compared it to a gift for the trio’s hard work to get there.

“It’s a blessing,” said Gardner, the fourth overall pick in the draft. “We have pretty good relationships. I feel like it was God’s plan for all three of us to be on the same team.”

“I know I speak for all three of us when I say there was a lot of hard work put into it,” said Johnson. “Our support systems did a lot behind closed doors. For us to be rewarded in this kind of way is pretty awesome.”