Sauce Gardner: I'm the Colts' first-round pick two times

The Colts are not scheduled to be on the clock at all in the first round of the draft on Thursday night because of a trade they made during the 2025 season.

Indianapolis sent their 2026 and 2027 first-round picks to the Jets in order to acquire cornerback Sauce Gardner in a move that signaled the Colts felt they were in position to make a run at the Super Bowl. Injuries to Gardner and quarterback Daniel Jones contributed to a season-ending seven-game losing streak that kept the Colts from even making the playoffs and led to some criticism of how much they gave up in order to add Gardner to the roster.

Jones is progressing in his Achilles rehab and Gardner said this week that he's fully healthy ahead of a season that some will view as a further referendum on the wisdom of the trade. Gardner said he does not feel any added burden because of the circumstances that brought him to the team.

“I’m the first-round pick — I’m the first-round pick two times,” Gardner said, via Joel A. Erickson of the Indianapolis Star. “We’re gonna get our money. We’re gonna do our thing on defense, especially, but the whole team is gonna do our thing. There’s no pressure. We think about what we do have, and that’s me. If I’ve gotta be the first-round pick the next two years, then I’m gonna work regardless. There’s already a lot on my plate, me being me, but it ain’t nothin’ I can’t handle, and I feel like we’ve got the guys to get where we wanna go, and bare minimum, that’s getting to the playoffs. I’m very confident in this team, in general, and the coaches and players and everything."

The Colts have not been to the playoffs since 2020 and falling short again would not do much to support the rationale for the Gardner move. It also wouldn't do much to ensure continuity on the coaching staff and personnel department heading into the 2027 season, so the corner might be on an island when it comes to feeling no pressure at this point.