It ain't ranch, blue cheese or honey mustard ... no, the best sauce in the world, according to New York Jets top pick Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner, is BBQ!!!
Gardner dubbed the sweet, tangy dip #1 to TMZ Sports shortly after he was selected with the fourth overall pick in Thursday night's NFL draft ... but he insisted that he does like "all" of the sauces.
SSAUUUUCCCEEEE 🗣️
— NFL (@NFL) April 29, 2022
Robert Saleh was just a tad excited to take @iamSauceGardner with their 4th pick yesterday 😂
📺: 2022 #NFLDraft continues Friday 7pm ET on NFLN/ESPN/ABC pic.twitter.com/tdzQ8l946u
When it comes to the heat category ... Ahmad tells us he loves hot sauces, too -- and watch the clip, he revealed his favorite one to us as well.
As for why he's so closely associated with sauces ... Gardner, widely considered the best cornerback prospect in this weekend's draft, said he got the nickname "Sauce" from a youth football coach back in the day.
The 21-year-old said that he was so smooth and quick, his coach called him "A1 Sauce Sweet Feet Gardner." It was later shortened to just "Sauce."
Turns out, Ahmad is a huge fan of dipping sauces too -- and thus, the nickname has stuck for over a decade.
Ahmad seemed pumped to take his game and nickname to New York -- telling us he's expecting a playoff run for his new team in 2022.