Sauce Gardner Snub: Jets Star's Madden Rating Revealed

The New York Jets have one of the very best cornerbacks in football in Sauce Gardner.

New York clearly loves what it has seen from Gardner and handed him a long-term extension ahead of training camp. Gardner is a two-time Pro Bowler and two-time First-Team All-Pro in just three seasons. He's entering his fourth season in the NFL and was ranked as the No. 1 overall cornerback in the NFL by Pro Football Focus.

"No. 1. Sauce Gardner, New York Jets," Pro Football Focus' John Kosko said. "Gardner’s 91.9 PFF coverage grade since 2022 leads the league. He has forced a league-high 46 incompletions and allowed a league-low 0.60 yards per cover snap and 21.4% first-down-plus-touchdown rate over that span.

"Unsurprisingly, Gardner's PFF advanced coverage grade ranks first, as well. While he might not shadow opposing wide receivers at a high rate, he has excelled when asked to do so."

ESPN had him lower and ranked him as the No. 5 cornerback in football head into in the 2025 NFL season.

Around this time every year, we start to see ratings pop up across social media for the Madden NFL video game. "Madden NFL 26" is set to come out on August 14th and some rankings have popped up on social media. ESPN's Adam Schefter shared the top 10 rankings for edge rushers, defensive linemen, linebackers, cornerbacks, safeties, running backs, tight ends, offensive linemen, wide receivers, and quarterbacks.

For cornerbacks, Gardner came in at No. 3 with a 94 overall rating. He was tied with Trent McDuffie and Jalen Ramsey. 2024 AP Defensive Player of the Year Award winner Patrick Surtain II landed the top spot with a 97, which isn't too shocking. The surprise was New England Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez landing ahead of Gardner at No. 2 with a 95. He was named to the second-team All-Pro in 2024, but isn't as accomplished as Gardner.

At the end of the day, these ratings don't matter and simply promote debate. Did they get it right?