Before his ascension into stardom as a rookie in the NFL last year, Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner was a little-known recruit out of Detroit, Michigan. Sauce attended Martin Luther King Jr. Senior High School where he played both wide receiver and defensive back helping to lead them to a Division 3 State Title in 2018. He was considered a consensus 3-star prospect and one of the top 30 ranked players in the state of Michigan for the class of 2019 which led to his eventual commitment to the University of Cincinnati.

Sauce burst onto the scene as a true freshman in 2019 where he posted 31 total tackles, 11 passes defended, and three interceptions with two being returned for touchdowns. This stellar freshman campaign led to his selection as a First-Team All-American Athletic Conference and a Third-Team All-America selection by Pro Football Focus after being graded as the No.6 overall cornerback with a 90.0 coverage grade. His sophomore year turned out to be even more successful as he finished with 28 total tackles, 9 passes defended, and three interceptions. This statistical outing led to his naming on 5 of the All-America teams while once again earning a First-Team All-AAC selection. In his final year at the University of Cincinnati, he once again had a statistically impressive season producing 35 tackles, 3 interceptions, 3 sacks, and 4 pass breakups. He led the defense that ranked No. 1 nationally in pass efficiency allowed (100.47), fourth in opponent completions (53.5 percent), third in interceptions (18), fifth in TD passes allowed (10) and No. 3 in passing yards allowed (168.3).

After a storybook career at the University of Cincinnati where he only allowed 13 catches for 117 yards and ZERO touchdowns in over 1000 career coverage snaps, Sauce decided to declare for the 2022 NFL Draft. He enjoyed an incredibly successful pre-draft process which saw him post a 4.41 40-yard dash time at the NFL Combine. These pre-draft measurables combined with his stellar body of work in college led to his eventual selection at No.4 overall by the New York Jets.

Sauce would go on to continue his expected lockdown style of play for the New York Jets that fans at Cincinnati had grown accustomed to experiencing. He recorded his first career interception in Week 5 against the Miami Dolphins. In Week 7 of the 2022 NFL season, Sauce recorded 10 tackles and three passes defended earning himself AFC Defensive Player of the Week. At the conclusion of the season, Sauce had started all 17 games and finished with 75 tackles, two interceptions, and 20 passes defended which led the entire league. This masterpiece of a rookie year led to him being named to the 2023 Pro Bowl and AP First-Team All-Pro, while also winning the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award. Sauce looks to follow up his stellar rookie campaign by continuing to lockdown receivers league-wide, a skill that he has seemingly mastered throughout the course of his career thus far.

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