2022 NFL Draft Prospect Profile: CB Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner, Cincinnati

Cincinnati Bearcats cornerback Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner has been mocked to the Giants numerous times during the Mock Draft Season. What is it, though, that makes him so unique? Nick searches the film to find out.

Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner, CB

Height: 6’3”
Weight: 190 lbs.
Class: Junior
School: Cincinnati
Arm length: 33 ½”
Wingspan: 79 ⅜”
Hand size: 9 ⅝”

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A former three-star recruit out of Martin Luther King High School in Detroit, Michigan, Gardner was the 163rd ranked cornerback, and the 41st Michigan recruit in the 2019 cycle. Gardner was a 160-pound recruit who was widely overlooked because of his uniquely tall and wiry frame.

Notables

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A 2021 consensus All-American and the AAC Defensive Player of the Year, Gardner was a Jim Thorpe Award semifinalist behind his teammate Coby Bryant - who is good in his own right - but saw double the targets with similar catch percentages. Many offenses avoided Gardner’s side of the field. Gardner was also first-team All-American in 2020 while finishing first-team All-AAC in all three of his college seasons.

Gardner finished the 2021 season with 40 tackles, five for a loss, three sacks, three interceptions, and four passes defended. He finished his three seasons as a Bearcat with 99 tackles, 5.5 for a loss, 3.5 sacks, nine interceptions, and 16 passes defended. Gardner was more disciplined in 2021 when he only had two penalties; he had seven in 2020 and five in 2019.

Gardner’s height is in the 96th percentile, his wingspan in the 95th percentile, and his arm length is in the 97th percentile. His length was frequently used within the construct of the Bearcats system; Gardner was the backside boundary CB in 3x1 sets who was often in MEG (man everywhere he goes) coverage. He aligned on both the right and left sides of the ball with some snaps in the slot.

Gardner was often aligned in press. At times, he bailed right at the snap into deep Cover-3 pattern match principles, where he did a solid job reading two to one and reacting well. He’s decisive, long, and very fluid for a cornerback with his frame. 

He is scheme versatile and will be an impact player at the next level. Garnder attended the 2022 NFL Scouting Combine, where he looked very smooth in drills and ran a 4.41 40-yard-dash (79th percentile).

Strengths

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• Elite height and length
• Exceptional athletic ability and good fluidity for a player of his size
• A long strider with great build-up acceleration
• Good overall short-area quickness and burst
• Good overall press cornerback who can clean up some issues to be an elite one
• Uses length well to disrupt WRs releases - has the hips to flip and not lose balance/momentum
• Times his bail well in press-bail - positions himself well to execute his assignments right at the snap
• Very good man coverage skills to stay in phase, mirror/match, and smoother WRs up their stems vertically and horizontally
• Uses the sideline to his advantage against outside releases - will assert his position and ride WRs off the redline
• Very difficult for WRs to stack - quickly positions himself to elongate outside releases
• Knows his position of power on the football field and plays well to his leverage
• Stays in the hip pocket with good technique on inside releases
• Against drag routes in man coverage, he does a great job working through the trash (MUSH/MOSH) and positioning himself underneath the drag to force perfect throws
• Smart and decisive in zone-match principles
• Does well to mid-point and position himself between vertical routes with excellent reactionary quickness to react to the quarterback
• Would make an excellent zone cornerback who closes throwing windows with ease
• Good ball skills - has never surrendered a touchdown in college
• Disruptive and uses every bit of his length to force incompletions
• Uses his long strides to recovery well
• Good in run support - was more physical in 2021 and he went lower with his tackles more frequently
• Elite backside pursuit and chase down ability - plays with great toughness and hustle
• Fits perfect as a press-man corner for Wink Martindale, but would also be very good in a zone scheme

 

Weaknesses/Can Improve

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• Very lean and wiry
• Press technique isn’t as crisp as LSU’s Derek Stingley Jr.
• Can lean and punch with his hands before he brings his feet
• Can have better - more disciplined - footwork at the LOS
• Punches with on-hand and turns hips prematurely in press and that was exposed by well-timed WR hands
• Tulsa: Q3, 12:45
• High-cut in the waist hinders change of direction when his hips are completely flipped
• Indiana: Q2, 0:53 on comeback
• Isn’t stiff but won’t have the smoothest transitions because of his high-cut nature and length
• Can tackle high at times

Summary

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Overall, Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner is a harassing cornerback with elite length who did well in press-man last season despite some techniques needing some work. Teams avoided Gardner’s side of the field because of his smothering ability in man coverage to stay in phase on inside releases or force receivers out of bounds with excellent positioning and great technique to elongate outside releases when he landed his punch with authority. 

Gardner’s length and temperament are nuisances for opposing offenses. He’s smart, understands how to leverage his position on the field, and is wildly disruptive for wide receivers to play against.

Gardner is relentless in press and uniquely fluid for a cornerback with his build. He is scheme versatile, improved his play strength in run support in 2021, and has the recovery speed and long strides to succeed when he is beat at the line of scrimmage (which didn’t happen much in college). 

Jerome Henderson (Giants’ defensive backs’ coach) could work wonders with a player like Gardner, who is the ideal fit for Don “Wink” Martindale’s system. Gardner is one of the more unique players in the draft, and he would make an excellent fit for the New York Giants in the top ten.

GRADE: 7.00

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