Big Board ranking: #6
Positional ranking: #1
Overview
Position: CB
College: Cincinnati
Class: Junior
Age: 21
Measurables
Height: 6’2 3/4”
Weight: 190 lbs.
Arm length: 33 1/2″
Hand size: 9 5/8″
Athletic testing
40-yard dash: 4.41 sec.
Vertical jump: N/A
Broad jump: N/A
Bench press: N/A
3-cone drill: N/A
Short shuttle: N/A
Strengths
Elite height and length on the perimeter. Very physical in press coverage. Jams are accurate and extremely disruptive. Ideal footwork and fluidity out of the press. High awareness in Cover-3. Exceptional range in zone coverage. Great feel for carrying routes in his assignment for as long as possible before getting off. Can basically eliminate his side of the field. Very good long speed for a bigger corner. Recovers if beaten deep. Able to keep his eyes on the quarterback without losing focus in coverage. Great ball skills. Gets his head around and tracks the ball at a high level. Tremendous timing to breakup passes at the catch point. Has some experience matching tight ends. Doesn’t hesitate to come up and get in position to play the run. Good quickness getting off blocks. Uses length to keep blockers off his frame. Effective on cornerback blitzes from the outside. Lined up at right and left cornerback with some snaps in the slot. Shows intensity/pride to not be dominated by blockers.
Weaknesses
Thin overall frame. Will whiff on some head-on tackles versus bigger opponents. Needs to clean up hand placement on the shoulder against routes across the field. Sometimes too handsy down the field in general. Can be a split second slow to react to crosses/drags in man coverage. Allowed a receiver behind him from time to time. Benefitted from being the boundary corner to assist play style.
NFL comparison
Richard Sherman
Conclusion
Overall, Gardner is a physical, press cornerback that best fits on the perimeter in a Cover-3 scheme where he can jam opponents and keep his eyes on the quarterback. Depending on the scheme of the team that targets the position first, Gardner will have a case to be the top corner off the board.
SAUUUCE!
I like this guy at corner
Future star.