Derek Stingley Jr. Impresses at 'Freakish' 2022 Pro Day; Ahmad Gardner Lines up Top-15 Team Visits

Stingley and Ahmad Gardner are in a tight race to be the first cornerback selected in the 2022 NFL Draft.

CINCINNATI — Ahmad Gardner has overtaken Derek Stingley Jr.'s claim on the top cornerback label in the 2022 NFL Draft recently, but the LSU Tiger made one final impression on teams to prove he should be the first CB off the board.

Gardner chose to only run the 40-yard dash throughout his testing window, but Stingley went through the gamut during his Pro Day.

CB Derek Stingley Jr.'s @LSUfootball Pro Day:

4.37u 40
38.5" vertical
10'2" broad

Where does he rank among DBs in this year's draft class? (via @JamesPalmerTV) pic.twitter.com/imS6MIJpFb

— NFL (@NFL) April 6, 2022

Derek Stingley so far, numbers courtesy of @dpbrugler, 20 split projected. pic.twitter.com/rH4u0qzXiy

— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) April 6, 2022

#LSU CB Derek Stingley Jr. wowed at his Pro Day. Spoke w/an assistant GM: “We clocked his 40 at 4.35. He’s the full package: Athleticism, speed, make-up. Nothing he does surprises me anymore. I mean, he’s close to a 40 on his vert and broad jumped 10-2. That’s freakish.”

— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) April 6, 2022

Stingley may have the hard testing numbers, but Gardner has all the film and consistency to match. That last part is key—Gardner only got better throughout his career in Clifton. Meanwhile, Stingley posted one of the best freshman cornerback seasons in college football history back in 2019—and never came close to matching it in 2020 or 2021.

Stingley's 40-yard dash time was an unofficial 4.37 seconds but ended up between 4.4 and 4.4 seconds compared to Gardner's 4.41 time in the only drill he chose to do. All in all, the testing confirmed why Stingley was able to intercept six passes along with 15 pass breakups during LSU's dominant run to the 2019 National Championship.

Both players could ultimately separate themselves at the top of a strong CB class throughout more team interviews in the next couple of weeks. Speaking of visits, Gardner has plenty lined up over the coming days and just wrapped one up with the Texans on Tuesday.

According to Ari Meirov, Gardner is also meeting with five other teams soon.

Cincinnati CB Ahmad 'Sauce' Gardner, one of the most polished players in the draft, met with the #Texans on Tuesday, per source. They pick at 3 and 13.

He has visits with the Lions (2), Giants (5 & 7), Jets (4 & 10), Seahawks (9) and Eagles (15 & 18) coming up, source added.

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) April 6, 2022

At this rate, it would be a shock if Gardner is not the first Bearcat in the past 50 years to be selected in the first 16 picks. The real question is who gets to put their new team cap on first: Gardner or Stingley?

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