NY Jets CB duo disrespected in recent Bleacher Report ranking

The NY Jets have the best cornerback duo in the NFL. That statement shouldn't really be so much of an opinion as it is a fact — at least as far as every metric is concerned. Not everyone seems to agree or care about the facts, however.

Bleacher Report's David Kenyon recently ranked the best cornerback duos in the NFL, and the Jets' duo of Sauce Gardner and D.J. Reed came in at an embarrassing fourth on the list.

Not only does Kenyon believe Gardner and Reed aren't the best duo in the NFL, but the author doesn't even believe they're a top-three tandem. Kenyon has the Philadelphia Eagles, Miami Dolphins, and Dallas Cowboys ranked ahead of the Jets for reasons that can't exactly be explained.

The author was complimentary of the Gardner/Reed duo, but that doesn't change the fact that their placement on this list is downright shameful — and the numbers prove it.

Sauce Gardner and D.J. Reed give the NY Jets the best cornerback duo in the NFL

Gardner and Reed both ranked top-seven in the entire NFL in Pro Football Focus coverage grade, receptions allowed, yards allowed, catch percentage allowed, yards per reception allowed, yards after catch allowed, and passer rating allowed among cornerbacks to play at least 600 coverage snaps in 2022.

No other NFL team has a pair of cornerbacks that accomplished that last season. The only cornerback duo even remotely close to Gardner and Reed statistically is the Eagles' duo of James Bradberry and Darius Slay.

You could make an argument that Bradberry and Slay are a better duo than Gardner and Reed, even if the numbers directly dispute that. There is no argument for the Dolphins and Cowboys.

Jalen Ramsey may still be one of the league's best cornerbacks, but Xavien Howard is coming off a 2022 season in which he was genuinely one of the worst starting cornerbacks in football. His 114.6 passer rating allowed ranked dead last among all qualified cornerbacks last season.

Howard was straight-up bad in 2022. Even the notion that he and Ramsey are a better duo than Gardner and Reed is downright laughable. The same is true for the Cowboys' duo of Trevon Diggs and Stephon Gilmore.

While Diggs was better in 2022 than he was the previous season (interceptions aside), he still allowed more than double the yards that Gardner did and nearly 300 more than Reed. His 99.6 passer rating allowed was the ninth-worst among cornerbacks to play at least 500 coverage snaps.

Gardner was the best cornerback in football last season. Reed was a borderline top-10 player (if not better) at his position. You could certainly argue that Ramsey and Bradberry were top-10 cornerbacks. Slay and Gilmore are on the border. As for Diggs and Howard, there's no argument.

In reality, no other team belongs in the same discussion as the Jets and Eagles.

Despite what the article in question might suggest, the Jets have the best cornerback duo in the NFL. Sauce Gardner and D.J. Reed should feel disrespected by this disappointing list.