The first round of the NFL Draft is Thursday from Las Vegas and no defensive player's stock is soaring right now perhaps more than that of University of Cincinnati cornerback Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner. He is now the massive -500 favorite at Caesars Sportsbook to be the first cornerback off the board and was once set with an Over/Under draft position of 8.5 but is down to 5.5.
During his three-year career with the Bearcats, Gardner amazingly didn't allow a single receiving touchdown. That's absurd. As a junior in 2021, he was named first-team All-American and American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year with 40 tackles, 4.5 for tackles loss, three sacks, three interceptions and four pass breakups. Gardner allowed just 13 catches for 117 yards all season, which included the College Football Playoff semifinal loss to Alabama.
Gardner is big for a cornerback at 6-foot-3, 190 pounds and he ran a 4.41 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine. NFL.com gives him an NFL comp of likely future Hall of Famer Richard Sherman.
Gardner is ranked as the No. 3 overall prospect on the CBS Sports Big Board, yet a few months ago many mock drafts had LSU's Derek Stingley Jr. as the first cornerback off the board simply because he's a better all-around athlete. Stingley Jr. is now +310 to be the first corner chosen and has an Over/Under draft spot of 9.5.
Some mock drafts have Gardner going No. 2 overall to the Lions (Gardner is from Detroit) although they took Ohio State cornerback at No. 3 overall Jeff Okudah in 2020. Alas, he has been an injury-plagued bust. Few mock drafts have Gardner getting past Houston at No. 3 next Thursday. The Under 5.5 draft position is a -130 favorite.
"It's rumored that the Texans are in the market for a cornerback, and (Gardner) and Stingley Jr. are getting a lot of action," said Adam Pullen, Assistant Director of Trading at Caesars Sportsbook. "If they're going corner, it's obviously one of those two, and Gardner is the big favorite among those two. That's what the information right now says, so the odds have been adjusted accordingly. The bets have been coming in based off that news. That Gardner move is considerable, but it's par for the course for this event."
In the recent Mel Kiper/Todd McShay combo mock draft, Gardner went No. 4 to the Jets. In the CBS Sports consensus mock draft, Gardner slips to the Giants at No. 7.
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