The New York Jets stole the show on the first night of the NFL draft. As some expected, they went heavy on the defensive side of the ball, using two of their three picks on defensive players: Cincinnati cornerback Sauce Gardner and Florida State defensive end Jermaine Johnson II.
For Gardner, the Jets brass pushed all their chips into the center of the table, selecting the Cincinnati product at fourth overall. That makes him the highest-drafted cornerback in the team’s history.
An unexpected fall for Johnson prompted general manager Joe Douglas to jump up from 35th to 26th overall, where he pounced on the opportunity to take one of his top graded prospects.