Sauce Gardner knows his career is likely to always be linked with that of Derek Stingley Jr.
It’s been impossible to ignore ever since the Texans took Stingley one selection before the Jets snapped up Gardner with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2022 draft.
The opposing cornerbacks won’t be going head-to-head when the teams meet Sunday at MetLife Stadium, but both Gardner and Stingley — the reigning AFC Defensive Player of the Week — figure to have a massive effect on the outcome.
“Obviously, the fans, the media, they are always gonna put us together, but that’s not really [motivation] for me. Because I definitely would have wanted to be here if I had the choice between the two teams,” Gardner told The Post after practice “He’s a good guy and a great [player and] is playing really well right now.
“I’m not necessarily going to compare [us], because I feel like we don’t really have the same play style.
“But people naturally gonna try to link us together. That’s how it was pre-draft and now.”
Gardner, who attended Cincinnati, and Stingley, who played at LSU, worked out together in Texas ahead of the draft two years ago.
Gardner was named AFC Defensive Rookie of the Year and first-team All-Pro in his first NFL season, and he is rated as the sixth best cornerback in the NFL this season in the Pro Football Focus — actually one spot behind Jets teammate D.J. Reed.
Stingley is ranked 17th in the NFL, although that’s mostly because he’s appeared in only five games due to a hamstring injury after also missing significant time as a rookie.
Still, he has recorded at least one interception in each of Houston’s past three games, including two in the second half in Sunday’s win over the Broncos to help the Texans improve to 7-5.
“[Stingley] is an insanely talented player. … But obviously we did a lot of work on Sauce and we’re very happy with that pick,” Jets defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich said. “In my humble opinion, we got the guy that we wanted, but at the same time, I remember being so excited about Stingley, as well.”
Ulbrich recalled obtaining practice tape of Stingley working out and “absolutely holding his own” with former LSU teammates Ja’marr Chase and Justin Jefferson, “winning more battles than he didn’t” against the Pro Bowl wide receivers.
“Both guys we were extremely excited about, but definitely we got the guy that we wanted,” Ulbrich added.
The 23-year-old Gardner only has been charged with one touchdown catch allowed through 12 games. And that one, he pointed out, the Jets “were playing zone and I was the closest guy to the ball.”
While he has no interceptions this season after registering two as a rookie, Gardner is not being targeted nearly as much this season and he’s allowed barely 200 receiving yards in man-to-man coverage.
“I got targeted much more in my first year. If I had two picks right now like I had last year, without a question I’d say I was playing way better this year,” Gardner said, nodding when asked if the decreased targets demonstrate the respect he’s already earned around the league. “I would say so, but my job is to always be ready and treat every play like the ball is coming to me.
“But as a whole, I think this year I’m playing extremely well.”
Despite a 4-8 record, the Jets have allowed 176.6 passing yards per game, the third-fewest in the league behind the Browns and the Ravens.
But rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud and the Texans have averaged 276.2 yards through the air over 12 games, behind only the Dolphins in the NFL.
“He’s extremely confident and you can tell that he believes in his guys,” Gardner said. “That’s how it should be when you’re a quarterback. I like what he’s been doing on the field and putting on tape, and I’m excited to get on the field with him.”