Where Jets Starters Rank Amongst NFL Cornerbacks

The New York Jets vaunted defense features two of the best cornerbacks in NFL circles, according to Pro Football Network.

Dec 28, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; New York Jets cornerbacks Sauce Gardner (left) and D.J. Reed (4) / Scott Galvin-USA TODAY Sports

The Top 10 starts and ends with New York Jets.

Pro Football Network released the top portion of their 2024 NFL individual cornerback rankings bookended by the Jets two starters.

In a less than surprising development, third-year cornerback Sauce Gardner earned the No. 1 overall ranking. The 23-year-old has two All-Pro First Team selections to show for his first two seasons.

On the opposite side of the field, veteran DJ Reed has emerged as a high-level performer since landing with the Jets. PFN ranks Reed at No. 10 overall, one spot behind Dallas Cowboys Pick-6 machine DaRon Bland.

Denver Bronco Patrick Surtain II and Miami Dolphin Jalen Ramsey sit directly behind Gardner in the rankings, respectively. Chicago Bear CB1 Jaylon Johnson and San Francisco 49er stalwart Charvarius Ward round out the Top 5. The Jets are the lone NFL team with two Top 10 occupants.

Gardner, the No. 4 overall selection in the 2022 NFL Draft, has quickly established himself as a lockdown defender at the pro level. He's played nearly every defensive snap over 33 regular season games, totaling 31 passes defensed and 132 tackles. Quarterbacks have a tendency to throw away from Gardner, who has allowed only two touchdowns in two years.

Reed joined the Jets as a free agent in 2022, reconnecting with Jets' head coach Robert Saleh who was his defensive coordinator for two seasons in San Francisco. The 27-year-old has become a 1B to Gardner's 1A. He has recorded 21 passes defensed and forced two fumbles in 32 starts as a Jet.

With Gardner, Reed and slot corner Michael Carter II as the headliners, the Jets featured the NFL's second-ranked pass defense (168.3) in 2023. New York frustrated quarterbacks like Patrick Mahomes and CJ Stroud, limiting opponents to a league low 4.57 yards per play.