After putting an end to his 18 years of glorious journey with the Green Bay Packers, the legendary quarterback Aaron Rodgers is currently passing only six weeks with his new home, however, cornerback Sauce Gardner and wide receiver Garrett Wilson have already caught the attention of the veteran QB.
Rodgers expressed his admiration for the talented duo of Wilson and Gardner due to their exceptional skills and potential and dubbed them as potential future stars in the NFL.
Aaron Rodgers showers praise on Wilson, Gardner
The Jets picked first-team All-Pro and Defensive Rookie of the Year Gardner as the fourth overall out of Cincinnati, and the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Wilson as the 10th overall out of Ohio State. Aaron being the long-time veteran in the league sees immense potential in his young teammates.
“We’ve got, at some point possibly, the best corner and the best receiver in the NFL. It’s a legit possibility for those two guys. Maybe not this upcoming year — I still think Davante [Adams] is in a league of his own — but those two kids are so talented.”
Gardner recorded a league-high 20 passes defended in 2022, 75 tackles along with two interceptions and Wilson put an end to his rookie season with 83 receptions for 1,103 yards along with four touchdowns throughout 17 games, hence, the 39-year-old QB thinks the competition between these two promising players will boost their athleticism.
“How we take the next step is to talk about the things that give us the most issues,” Rodgers said. “To talk about release issues [caused by Gardner] and what’s hard on Garrett, and then Sauce telling Garrett what’s hard on him. I think right now, we have good communication with those guys. They battle, they compete.”
The Future Hall of Fame lauded both of the rookie players, albeit he had some extra praises for Garrett.
“I love Garrett Wilson. He’s got all the talent and ability. You need your best players to be the best people on your team. He’s definitely one of them.”
Is Sauce Gardner the best CB in the league?
Gang Green’s CB Sauce moonlighted as a hero by quickly establishing himself as the best cornerback in the game during his rookie season and is currently heading to his second NFL season.
The 2022 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year was ranked as the No. 1 cornerback in the league by PFF out of 32.
“He allowed a 53.9 passer rating, and just 45.9% of passes thrown into his coverage were caught by their intended receiver. We know coverage in general, and cornerback play in particular, is highly volatile, so Gardner could regress in 2023. But there is no obvious lockdown cornerback who belongs atop this list in his place”, the source said.
He also grabbed first position in PFF’s coverage grade, catch percentage allowed, and overall pass breakups during his first 13 weeks of the previous season.
General manager Joe Douglas projected his potential bright future and shared some optimistic words for the cornerback shortly after drafting him.
“Sauce can do everything. He can play zone, he can play man, he can win in crunch time, he can run with the fastest guys, he can defend the biggest guys. He’s elite and really fortunate that we got him at four.”
What did Aaron Rodgers say about Zach Wilson?
New York’s quarterback told reporters that he would make the team’s new veteran QB’s life hell in practice every day without knowing the player would be Rodgers and the ex-Packers QB responded to the statement after his blockbuster trade saying,”He’s going to make my life hell in practice. and I’m going to make his life heaven off the field.”
The Jets’ new QB1 holds no grudges for the player who had been a big fan of him since childhood and aims to mentor the third-year quarterback to explore his potential.
“Part of my opportunity here is to be a great mentor to him, and to teach him fundamental stuff, to allow him to be around me and, through osmosis, just pick up some things that can help him in his career. That’s what happened to me, being around Brett [Favre].”
Time will tell if these young talents can live up to the lofty expectations set by Aaron and others, albeit for now, fans will eagerly wait to witness the Big Apple shining again in the league following the failed attempts to reach the postseason since 2010.
