Jets rookie Azareye'h Thomas ready for challenge against Bengals WRs: ‘These are the games you live for’

The Jets' secondary will be without a huge piece for Sunday's matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals, as star CB Sauce Gardner was ruled out with a concussion.

That means Gang Green will have to lean on their young defenders heavily.

Insert rookie corner Azareye'h Thomas.

Thomas has played limited snaps during his first NFL campaign, but he did slide in nicely in place of Gardner when he was forced to leave during last week's game against the Carolina Panthers.

He allowed two catches, but also broke up two passes and was strong in man-to-man coverage.

Head coach Aaron Glenn has liked what he's seen from the Florida State product so far.

I thought he's done a pretty good job of being ready when he's called upon," he said. He made a play at the end of the game against Carolina and they made a play on him, but that's the life of a corner, those things happen.

The thing about him is he's not losing his confidence at all -- I'm excited about how he's going to progress and how he's going to continue to progress, and he's going to be a key cog of what we do as he continues his years of playing."

Sunday's contest, though, certainly will present a significant challenge for the 21-year-old.

With both Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins lining up on the outside, Cincinnati has a top-tier passing game that has come back to life since Cincinnati acquired former Jets quarterback Joe Flacco in a deal with the Cleveland Browns.

Both caught touchdowns from Flacco last week against the Steelers, while combining for 25 catches and 257 yards.

Certainly a tall task for Thomas' biggest NFL workload, but one he feels he'll be up for.

I'm going against two of the best in this game," he said. Growing up, these are the games that you live for, that's the competitive nature that my momma instilled in me still to this day. I'm excited for this challenge and excited to get to work."