Position Reset for '25
Sauce Gardnerwill once again headline the Jets cornerbacks room in 2025. The two-time All-Pro, entering his fourth season with the Green & White, will look to step into an even larger role as a young veteran.
"Being a leader, leading even more," Gardner said of his goals. "I feel like that's what I've done a pretty good job at this time around at OTAs, just being a guy that everybody can talk to. [I want to] make sure I lead by example, make sure I influence everybody, catch more picks. I feel like I've got the coaches around me, the guys around me, to make that happen."
Opposite Gardner will likely be free agent veteran addition Brandon Stephens, who brings a wealth of experience to the Jets. Stephens spent his first four NFL seasons in Baltimore where he contributed to a unit that consistently ranked among the league's best. In 2024, Stephens started 17 games for the Ravens and totaled 70 tackles, 10 pass defenses and 1.5 sacks.
The Jets return several other key players. Michael Carter II -- who recorded career bests in receiving yards allowed (344), passer rating allowed (76.4) and completion percentage allowed (55.6) during the 2023 season -- will look to bounce back after injury limited his playing time and production in 2024.
"[We're] building that consistency day in and day out and just being on our details," Carter said of the unit. "It's a new system for everybody, and I feel like every day we've taken strides to get better and better. We're learning from our mistakes and not making those same mistakes twice. Ultimately, when we come back in training camp, I feel like we'll be able to hit the ground running because they prepared us well."
Joining Carter is veteran Isaiah Oliver -- who played in 17 games for the Jets last season and lined up at multiple positions, Jarrick Bernard-Converse, who will enter his third season with the Green & White, and second-year player Qwan'tez Stiggers.
Jets newcomers include 2025 third-round draft pick Azareye'h Thomas, seven-year veteran Kris Boyd -- who has been a core special teams player for most of his career -- and undrafted free agent rookie Jordan Clark out of Notre Dame.
| Jets CB | '24 Team(s) | Exper in '25 | '24 GP-GS-DNP-IA | '24 D-ST-TotSnaps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brandon Stephens | BAL | 5th | 17 - 17 - 0 - 0 | 1047 - 7 - 1054 |
| Sauce Gardner | NYJ | 4th | 15 - 15 - 0 - 1 | 880 - 6 - 886 |
| Isaiah Oliver | NYJ | 8th | 17 - 7 - 0 - 0 | 578 - 150 - 728 |
| Kris Boyd | HOU | 7th | 17 - 0 - 0 - 0 | 48 - 365 - 413 |
| Michael Carter | NYJ | 5th | 13 - 1 - 0 - 4 | 286 - 10 - 296 |
| Qwan'tez Stiggers | NYJ | 2nd | 14 - 1 - 0 - 3 | 49 - 215 - 264 |
| Jarrick Bernard-Converse | NYJ | 3rd | 7 - 0 - 0 - 10 | 6 - 111 - 117 |
| Azareye'h Thomas | Florida St. | R | .......... | .......... |
| Jordan Clark | Notre Dame | R | .......... | .......... |
Storyline to Watch
How can the CBs room benefit from the coaching of two former Pro Bowl corners and a safety who played 12 years in the NFL?
As the cornerbacks room strives for dominance this season, several players believe that head coach Aaron Glenn, DBs coach/passing game coordinator Chris Harris and assistant defensive backs coach Dré Bly -- who bring a combined 38 years of NFL playing experience to the staff -- will help elevate the unit.
Harris, appearing in 101 regular season games at safety with four teams from 2005-12, registered 439 career tackles, 37 PDs and 16 INTs. Bly, a second-round pick of the Rams in 1999, totaled 528 tackles, 150 PDs and 3 INTs throughout his 11-year career, while Glenn, a first-round pick of the Jets in 1994, amassed 639 tackles, 102 PDs and 41 INTS during his pro journey.
"It's really cool having kind of all these guys who played in the league," Michael Carter II said. "They really understand what's going on and how things happen on the field and things like that. It definitely resonates. You can approach those coaches a different way because they really get it. They give good feedback, they've all played at a high level, and so I feel like that's just a wealth of knowledge and wisdom that we get to take advantage of that will only make us better players."
Sauce Gardner is focused on recording more takeaways this season, and Glenn, Harris and Bly will set a high defensive standard when it comes to generating takeaways.
"It's great," Garnder said of the new staffers. "They caught a lot of interceptions; they made a lot of plays. It's great to have them in this building to help me make more plays on the ball."
Rookie third-round draft pick Azareye'h Thomas is also eager to learn from Glenn as he looks to make an impact in his first NFL season. Glenn noted that Thomas "fits our DNA," and that the level of competition has "yet to be too big" for the Florida State product.
"He's serious, he's about business and he loves defense," Thomas said of Glenn. "Your head coach having been a former corner, you really can't ask for anything greater than that."
What They're Saying
Brandon Stephens on the cornerback group: "We have to prove ourselves each and every day. It starts on this practice field and that translates to Sundays. We're just trying to be the best unit in the National Football League. And we know that doesn't come easy. We have to work for that and earn that. We have to stick to the process."
CB Trivia
Gardner is eager to take flight in his first season under HC Glenn (41 interceptions in 15 seasons as an NFL corner) DBs coach Harris (16 INTs, 14 forced fumbles, 9 fumble recoveries in 8 seasons) and assistant DBs coach Bly (43 INTs in 11 pro seasons, tied for 7th-most in the NFL from 1999-2024). While Gardner's metrics were down last year, it's worth mentioning that in his last three seasons, Sauce has defensed 41 passes, tied for the 4th-most PDs in the league since '22.
