Jets Country

Jets' Sauce Gardner, Garrett Wilson Both Win Rookie of the Year Awards

The Jets made history on Thursday night with a sweep of both Rookie of the Year awards.

Max Goodman

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Two first-round picks.

Two franchise cornerstones. 

And now, two Rookie of the Year award winners.

Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner won Defensive Rookie of the Year while Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson won Offensive Rookie of the Year at the NFL Honors show on Thursday night.

Gardner and Wilson are now just the third set of rookie teammates to win those awards in the same year.

Gardner, the No. 4 pick from the 2022 NFL Draft, quickly established himself as one of the best corners in the league. In a season where the Cincinnati product faced countless star wideouts, Gardner racked up 20 passes defended, 75 tackles and two interceptions. The cornerback made the Pro Bowl and was also voted a first-team All-Pro.

Wilson, the No. 10 pick from last year's draft, set a new rookie franchise record with 83 receptions and 1,103 receiving yards. He added four touchdown receptions as well. While the Jets went through their entire quarterback room, Wilson was consistently dynamic and explosive, exceeding 100 receiving yards in three different games. 

The 1967 Lions (Mel Farr, Lem Barney) and 2017 Saints (Alvin Kamara and Marshon Lattimore) are the only other teams to sweep the Rookie of the Year awards in a single season.

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Max Goodman
MAX GOODMAN

Max Goodman covers the New York Jets for Sports Illustrated and FanNation. He also covers the New York Yankees, publisher  of Sports Illustrated and FanNation's Yankees site, Inside The Pinstripes. Before starting out with SI, Goodman attended Northwestern University and the Medill School of Journalism. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism and Master’s Degree in Sports Media, graduating in 2019. While at school, Goodman gathered valuable experience as an anchor and reporter on NNN SportsNight and played on the club baseball team. Goodman previously interned at MLB.com as an associate reporter covering the Miami Marlins. He also interned with ESPN, working as an associate reporter on Mike Greenberg's Get Up. Goodman is from New York City. He grew up in Hell's Kitchen. Follow Goodman on Twitter @MaxTGoodman and connect with him via email by reaching out at maxgoodmansports@gmail.com.

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