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The NFL did Sauce Gardner dirty, as they ran a simulcam of Quinyon Mitchell and him in their respective 40-yard dash. While the Jets cornerback has a speedy time of 4:41 seconds, Mitchell, the Toledo defensive back, clocked in a 4:33 second time.
It already has people excited about the future NFL star since Sauce Gardner took the league by storm in his rookie year. The New York star won the Defensive Rookie of the Year Award and has become a reliable performer over the last season. If Quinyon Mitchell is even faster, he could be a phenomenon.
Does Sauce Gardner beat Quinyon Mitchell in other statistical categories?
Speed is one thing, but that's not the most important metric to look at when judging a cornerback. Arguably the hardest position to play on the football field, it requires many other attributes that we try to approximate using statistics.
Sauce Gardner, in his final college season in Cincinnati, played 13 games. He recorded 40 total tackles, 28 of them were solo. He also recorded five tackles for a loss, three sacks and three interceptions.
Quinyon Mitchell, in the same number of games last season, had 41 total tackles, 32 of which were solo. He also had one interception but did not register a sack in his final season at Toledo. In 2022, though, he had five interceptions in 14 games.
What it shows is that the two players are remarkably similar, but the main difference lies in the Jets corner being more disruptive in the offensive backfield during his college days, while Mitchell was better on one-on-one tackles in the defensive backfield.
Will Quinyon Mitchell join Sauce Gardner at the New York Jets?
It's clear based on statistics and speed that Quinyon Mitchell has the potential to be the next big corner after Sauce Gardner. However, it's unlikely that the two will end up together in New York playing for the Jets.
While the franchise has a lot of needs, they mainly are around developing an offensive line that can protect Aaron Rodgers and giving him an elite threat beyond Garrett Wilson in the wide receiver position. The rookie from Toledo might be better suited to other teams.
Some of them have been in the Super Bowl in recent years but need to strengthen that position like the Los Angeles Rams and the Philadelphia Eagles. There are others like the Arizona Cardinals and the Los Angeles Chargers, who are either at the start of or embarking on a new era.
Then there are consistent performers like the Pittsburgh Steelers, who also need to reinforce their cornerback depth. But after his performance at the Combine, he might not be up on the board long.
So, it's unlikely that Sauce Gardner and Quinyon Mitchell will team up. But given their respective stats, the man from Toledo might be on a mission to prove that he can be better in his rookie year than the current Jets corner.
If that's indeed the challenge, it will be up to the former Cincinnati player to prove that he's still the top dog by putting in numbers next season that silences his doubters.
