What was clear from the Indianapolis Colts minicamp was that while the cornerback group has solid talent, no player, not even veteran Charvarius Ward, compares to the elite ability of Sauce Gardner. He is arguably the best player at his position in the NFL, and he wants to further prove that in real games.
Speaking to the media after camp ended on Thursday, Gardner had a warning for opposing quarterbacks: "I hope they think that they should go at me...so I can get more targets (thrown my way) and be able to have more ball production to change the game more."
Of course, the issue is that Gardner has been so good in his short career, which includes being named First-Team All-Pro twice, that QBs don't want to throw the ball in the direction of the wide receiver he is covering. Due to Gardner's greatness, his raw statistics are extremely diminished.
Indianapolis Colts' Sauce Gardner issues a challenge to opposing quarterbacks
In four seasons, he has just three interceptions. He led the league in passes broken up as a rookie in 2022 with 20, after which quarterbacks simply assumed the cornerback's receiver wasn't open and decided to throw the ball elsewhere.
That is a testament to the true elite ability that Gardner has. He might not necessarily be taking the ball away himself, but only because he is so good at coverage that the ball rarely finds him. When it does, bad things normally happen for the opposing offense.
In minicamp. Sauce Gardner further flashed his high-end play. Twice against quarterback Anthony Richardson, who does struggle with accuracy but can beat defenders deep with his arm strength, Gardner was tested. Both times, the pass fell incomplete because of what Gardner did, and one of those times was an interception.
While the Indianapolis Colts' defense was not elite last season, the unit could improve in 2026 simply by having Gardner around for a full season, especially if he stays healthier than he did after joining Indy midway through the season. He missed four games in the second half of the year, one more than he missed in his first three seasons combined.
Having Gardner on the field forces the quarterback to wait an extra tick before throwing the ball, which gives the Colts' mercurial pass rush more time to get home. In other words, a healthy Gardner makes the entire defense better.
Maybe in 2026, though, Sauce Gardner will get his wish. Perhaps quarterbacks will throw the ball his way more often, and he can get the interceptions he hasn't had a lot of chances to get in his first four seasons. The cornerback and Indianapolis Colts fans would certainly be happy with that.
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