After strong rookie seasons, Jets' Garrett Wilson, Sauce Gardner ready for next step 

Garrett Wilson is still stinging from last Sunday’s loss in Seattle that knocked the Jets out of playoff contention.

The dynamic receiver, a front-runner for Offensive Rookie of the Year, was sitting in front of his locker this past week shaking his head and speaking in a low voice as he talked about how the Jets went from controlling their own destiny to losing their last five games.

“It [stinks],” Wilson told Newsday. “We feel like we had a great shot, put ourselves in great position and just completely folded, man.”

Wilson vowed it won’t happen again next year. He is not alone.

Cornerback Sauce Gardner, who is the frontrunner for Defensive Rookie of the Year, was sitting in front of his locker all but guaranteeing the Jets will end their 12-year playoff drought next season.

“It’s happening next year for sure,” Gardner told Newsday. “It ain’t going to be no doubt.”

Wilson and Gardner were integral parts of a team that stayed in the playoff chase until Week 17. They’re also two of the biggest reasons for hope that things will change for this star-crossed franchise.

Gardner made the Pro Bowl and already is one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL. Wilson set the franchise rookie record for receiving yards (1,014). He is the first Jets receiver since Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker in 2015 to amass 1,000 receiving yards.

Wilson said hope is “cool” but that the Jets have to make hope become reality.

“You want to give your fans hope and make them feel like we got a chance next year,” he said. “But at some point, that’s going to be old, too. At some point, it’s just got to click and it’s just got to happen.

“We felt like we had the dudes this year. We didn’t go out there and prove it, and that hurts. We’re going to get better this offseason and come back and make sure that it ain’t hope again. We’re going to make sure that we’re in it next year and competing and doing what we feel like we should be doing.”

The Jets have many things unsettled entering the offseason.  The only certainties are they have a young cornerback who can shut down receivers and a young receiver who can give cornerbacks fits.

“They both have that ability to elevate others and hold people accountable and push and challenge,” defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich said. “They’re elevators of their side of the ball, and really both sides of the ball .  .  . They will be the guys that will push this team to places it hasn’t been.”

Robert Saleh said he knew Gardner and Wilson were special when they walked in the building because nothing is “too big” for them. Saleh said rookies can cause “headaches and hair-pulling moments . . .  just chaos.” Not these two.

“Youth is so hard to stick with because it can make you look really bad as a football coach,” Saleh said. “Fortunately, for those two, they’ve made the coaches look really good.”

Gardner was the No. 4 overall pick out of Cincinnati. Wilson was taken six picks later out of Ohio State. They look like definite cornerstones.from a draft class that includes running back Breece Hall, whom Saleh called “a superstar,” and defensive end Jermaine Johnson, about whom Saleh said, “That son of a gun is going to be good, really good.”

The season might have gone differently had Hall not torn his ACL in Week 7. He has missed the last nine games but still leads the team in touchdowns (five) and rushing yards (463). Hall could have been the Offensive Rookie of the Year frontrunner had he stayed healthy. Seattle running back Kenneth Walker and Wilson are the top candidates now.

Wilson set a goal of reaching 1,000 receiving yards. He said “it’s cool” he achieved it and he’s “not going to downplay it,” but winning “weighs heavier on me than anything else.”

Gardner wanted to make the Pro Bowl, win Defensive Rookie of the Year and be named first-team All-Pro. He has a legit shot at all three.

“I’m trying to not sound cocky, but if I’m just talking about myself, I feel like I’m in my own territory,” Gardner said. “They’re not talking about me like he’s doing good out of all the rookies. They’re talking about me like when it comes to all the cornerbacks that have been in the league. I feel like the stuff I’m doing, ain’t nobody doing, not just rookies, and against the best too, going up against the best week in and week out.”

Gardner leads the NFL with 20 passes defensed and has two interceptions. He broke up four passes against Seattle last week. In Week 15, Detroit didn’t throw at Gardner once.

Jets cornerback D.J. Reed said Gardner is “playing like the best corner right now in the NFL.”

Said defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins: “You just notice immediately that side of the field just looks different.  There’s not as many route concepts going over there,There’s not as many passes thrown over there. It looks different. When you throw a pass over there, I’m surprised if one gets caught.”

The night Gardner (fourth overall) and Wilson (10th) were drafted, they flew together on a private jet from Las Vegas to New Jersey.

Wilson said he and Gardner discussed “the impact” they could have and bringing a “winning culture” to the Jets.

“We were excited to compete against each other,” Wilson said. “Now we’ll just want to continue on that and actually build a winning culture and make sure that we’re winning games, winning the ones we’re supposed to and still going at it at practice, competing and pushing each other to be as good as we can be.

“When we’re doing that, all that stuff will build with it. I feel like we can bring our teammates with us.”

By Al Iannazzone

al.iannazzone@newsday.comAl_Iannazzone

Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.