NY Jets Week 5 Rookie Stock Report: Bro, they're so good

Stock Way Up:  Sauce Gardner, CB, NY Jets ($SAUCE)

• Stats: 5 tackles, 1 pass defended, 1 QB hit (safety), 1 interception, 100% snap count

Sauce Garder is an instant difference-maker, leader, and culture changer. It's hard to describe just how much of an impact one player has had on the general attitude of the team.

Gardner set the tone early in the game with a cornerback blitz, causing Teddy Bridgewater to take a safety on the play, and ultimately knocking him out of the game.

He continued to be a shutdown force, despite a questionable pass interference call against him, and ultimately got the play that he was chasing through the first four games of the season.

On a wobbly throw, after pressure got to Skylar Thompson, Gardner got in front of the receiver and was able to come up with the first interception of his career.

Gardner's performance has been stellar all season (a couple of rookie mistakes mixed in), and he is already playing himself into the conversation of one of the best young cornerbacks in football.

There is something further to be said about his intangibles, though. Watching him on the sidelines, he is always active in hyping up his teammates and creating a sense of urgency for the defense.

It is rare that a player so young comes into the league with so much confidence and character while also being able to back it up with his play.

Sauce Gardner seems to be establishing himself as a staple of this franchise even just through the first five games of his career.