The New York Jets have the highest graded cornerback in the National Football League and his name is not Sauce Gardner.
Midway through the season, Pro Football Focus unveiled league-wide position-by-position rankings that were highly complimentary of Jets' starter D.J. Reed. In his second season with Gang Green after signing as a free agent in 2022, Reed topped all NFL cornerbacks in overall PFF defensive grades.
Despite missing two games due to a concussion, Reed posted an 86.9 score to edge out Chicago's Jaylon Johnson (86.3) for the No. 1 spot. Gardner, who earned All-Pro honors as a rookie last year, ranks sixth overall with an 81.7 grade.
Reed has totaled 33 stops and forced one fumble over six starts this season. He has been targeted only 24 times and has not permitted a touchdown.
After spending two years with San Francisco followed by two years in Seattle, Reed inked a three-year deal reportedly worth $33 million. The Jets brought him in to help kickstart a defense that ranked 30th overall in 2021. He has started 23 games alongside Gardner, transforming the Jets' pass defense into one of the league's best.
Although opposing quarterbacks tend to stay away from the Jets' highly-touted CB duo as much as possible, Reed and Gardner lead a defense that allows only 5.42 yards per pass play (second in the NFL).
Albeit in a losing effort, the Jets' defense limited Chargers' quarterback Justin Herbert to season lows in pass yards (136) and completion percentage (53.3) last time out. Naturally, the lockdown coverage aids the pass rush, allowing the defensive front to get home and affect the quarterback's throws. The Jets sacked Herbert five times and registered 13 quarterback hits.
The Jets' defense also did a job on top-tier quarterbacks Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts, limiting the trio to a combined 3:8 touchdown-to-interception ratio.
"In the backend, obviously Sauce Gardner's a problem. That secondary, they play well. They're in sync," said Raiders' interim head coach Antonio Pierce.
It's worth monitoring which cornerback the Jets will deploy on Raiders' receiver Davante Adams in Week 10. It's unclear if Gardner will travel with the three-time All-Pro First Team pass-catcher.
"You see the movement, the route running and the separation and he's still scary in all of those ways," said Jets' defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich. "I know our guys are excited to play against him because he is absolutely still one of the best receivers in this league.
The Jets and Raiders will kick off at 8:20 pm ET on November 12 on NBC's Sunday Night Football.
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