The No. 4 general decide Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner and No. 26 general decide Jermaine Johnson aren’t feeding into their draft standing hype.
The Jets are banking on the additions of Gardner and Johnson to raise Gang Green’s protection from the underside of the NFL. So the 2 defensive first-round picks may boast by predicting dominance for his or her first season. But at rookie minicamp, neither are targeted on their particular person objectives. They’re concentrating on being good teammates and serving to the Jets win video games.
“Anything that comes along with Jermaine being Jermaine, and investing all I can into the team,” Johnson mentioned from the Jets coaching facility in Florham Park Saturday. “I don’t put a ton of expectations on myself in that aspect. In my experience, you put the team first and you operate the right way instead of all the individual stuff on it. And more times than not, it’s greater than what you could have shot for being selfish.”
Gardner was barely extra candid along with his personal expectations of his rookie season.
“Good impact,” Gardner mentioned on Friday. “I know I have vets, I like being a sponge. I just want to soak up as much information as I can from those guys, be the best, the best teammate that I can be.”
Regardless of their humbleness, each have the expertise to lift the play of the Jets protection.
Johnson joined a gifted line of defense, that includes John Franklin-Myers and Quinnen Williams, who produced strong seasons in 2021 with six sacks a bit. Carl Lawson can even be again after tearing his Achilles in coaching camp final 12 months. The Jets’ hope is he can resemble the Lawson who was as soon as the anticipated Jets’ greatest participant, destroying offensive lineman within the go and run sport all through coaching camp.
A bunch led by these three gamers will make Johnson’s rookie 12 months a lot simpler as it can ease the stress on him to be a dominant go rusher in Year 1.
“Those guys are pros, pros, right? They do things the right way. They got a lot of years under their belt,” Johnson mentioned. “So just be able to sit around them and learn from them and soak up all I can. And then be able to prove myself as a worthy teammate, as a worthy brother. Now, that’s very important to me. So, anyway, I can do that, that’s extremely important to me. That’s really the most important thing on my mind right now is getting around those guys and showing them what I’m about.”
Gardner’s choice fortifies a cornerback group that featured Bryce Hall, Brandin Echols, Michael Carter II, Isaiah Dunn, Javelin Guidry and free agent signing D.J. Reed.
“However they want to use me, I’m willing to be versatile, I’m willing to do whatever it takes to win,” Gardner mentioned.
“They want to play zone, they want to play man, they want to blitz me, they want to put me at linebacker,” Gardner joked. “I don’t think that’s going to happen, but I’m willing to do whatever it takes, however they want to use me.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com