Robert Goddin-Imagn Images
Jul 7, 2026 1:56 PM
Updated Jul 9, 2026 3:56 PM
NFL coaches, executives, and scouts have weighed in on where the Indianapolis Colts' Sauce Gardner ranks among the league's best cornerbacks.
Coming in at No. 4 on the Indianapolis Colts' 12 Most Important Players of 2026 list is CB Sauce Gardner.More Videos
The Indianapolis Colts executed one of the biggest moves in franchise history last year at the NFL's trade deadline, sending wide receiver AD Mitchell and their 2026 and 2027 first-round draft picks to the New York Jets in exchange for cornerback Sauce Gardner.
Like the Jets' defense in general, Gardner's reputation began to slip a bit after an elite start to his career that saw him honored with the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award in 2022 as well as First-Team All-Pro in 2022 and 2023.
Upon arriving in Indianapolis, Gardner got off to a solid start, but the hype would be short-lived after a calf injury curtailed his debut season with the Colts, limiting him to just two full games.
Gardner is now settled in and healthy after a full offseason with the Colts and has his sights set on recapturing his elite status. While his game has skeptics on the outside, he is still broadly viewed in a positive light around the league.
For the seventh year in a row, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler polled dozens of NFL coaches, executives, and scouts to find the top 10 players at each position. The cornerback rankings were released on Tuesday morning, with Gardner coming in at No. 9:
- Pat Surtain II, Denver Broncos
- Derek Stingley Jr., Houston Texans
- Christian Gonzalez, New England Patriots
- Devon Witherspoon, Seattle Seahawks
- Trent McDuffie, Los Angeles Rams
- Quinyon Mitchell, Philadelphia Eagles
- Denzel Ward, Cleveland Browns
- Jaycee Horn, Carolina Panthers
- Sauce Gardner, Indianapolis Colts
- Cooper DeJean, Philadelphia Eagles
Gardner was No. 5 on last year's list. This year, he received the highest vote, No. 5, and the lowest vote, unranked.
Once again, Gardner is the most polarizing cornerback on the list. He's a star player who is paid like one and garnered two first-round picks in a midseason trade from the New York Jets to the Colts. He has long been a Pro Football Focus favorite. He has rare length for the position and breaks up passes at a high rate.
But his turnover production is poor -- only three interceptions in four NFL seasons -- and several evaluators have pointed out he misses tackles and holds too much.
'Sauce lost the sauce,' an NFL offensive coach said. 'Now, he got traded for a reason -- he's a long strider and has the confidence to overshadow his weaknesses. He can press and play Cover 2. But he's not going to tackle all the time, he's not going to crack replace, and when playing zone, sometimes he's not playing it correctly. It's just hard for him to hold up over the course of the game.'
Some coaches noted that a full season with Colts defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo, a defensive backs coach by trade, will help his consistency.
To be sure, Gardner's nine pass breakups on 293 coverage snaps (3.1%) last season led the league based on percentage. And his 39 passes defended since entering the league in 2022 ties with Ward for second most by any player over that span, trailing only Alontae Taylor (40).
'Not many move like him,' an NFL personnel evaluator said. 'He moves like a much smaller man. But he's not making plays at the same rate he was.'
Kamari Lassiter of the Houston Texans, Joey Porter Jr. of the Pittsburgh Steelers, A.J. Terrell Jr. of the Atlanta Falcons, and Jaylon Johnson of the Chicago Bears were all honorable mentions in Fowler's poll.
Context is important when examining Gardner's first season with the Colts.
While with the Jets, Gardner played in London on Oct. 12. He was traded to the Colts on Tues., Nov. 4. He traveled from the east coast to Indianapolis, studied the playbook, and practiced before boarding a plane with the Colts headed for Berlin, Germany two days later on Thurs., Nov. 6, all less than a month after already playing overseas in Europe.
Gardner then played in two full games for the Colts (159 snaps), both going to overtime, before a calf injury occurred in his third game with the team. He returned three weeks later but reaggravated the injury, which shut him down for the final game of the season.
When on the field in 2025, Gardner graded well, according to Pro Football Focus, allowing a 48.6% completion percentage when targeted while tying for second in the NFL among corners in forced incompletion rate (26%). His overall defensive grade (76.9) ranked ninth.
"I hope (quarterbacks) think that they should go at me," Gardner recently said during minicamp. "That's what I would like them to think, so I can get more targets and be able to have more ball production, change the game more.
"As a corner, we want those accolades. We want those statistics. We want picks. We want PBUs. We want all of those things. I used to think that way (not being thrown at) like my first couple years in the league, but it's like, I want more now, you know? I want to make plays on the ball, a lot more plays."
On Monday morning, the Colts' Jonathan Taylor was named the NFL's No. 5 running back.
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