The Chicago Bears got a shutdown cornerback in Jaylon JohnsonThe Chicago Bears landed a good one at pick 50 with Jaylon Johnson. Some fans know him well as he played on the west coast for a Utah defense that has only become relevant in recent years. Still, we have talked about the fit of Johnson and how he screamed Chicago Bear before the draft.
Now that he is on the team, it is time to dig in even deeper and get to know what the Bears have in Johnson. Judging by his college production, this is a player to be very excited about.
Here are five things that you should know about Jaylon Johnson.
5. 2,072 snaps played
Jaylon Johnson is just 21 years old and is an underclassman. However, the Chicago Bears have had plenty of tape to sort through and see what exactly he is about. Coming out of high school, Johnson was a four-star recruit and was a top cornerback prospect.
As a true freshman, he started in two games, but played 506 total snaps and was targeted 55 times. He spent a lot of his time in the slot but showed that he could get on the field against college athletes.
Over the next two seasons, Johnson started 27 games at outside cornerback. He spent 946 snaps in coverage in that span.
For those questioning whether he can jump in right away, he had no issue contributing at age 18. He is still young for his draft class and is also one of the more experienced cornerbacks in the draft class. For reference C.J. Henderson played 1,627 snaps; Jeff Okudah played 1,467 snaps. Okudah is two months older than Johnson, Henderson is four months older.
4. 4.50 40-yard dash
Looking at the overall combine metrics of Jaylon Johnson, he compares well to a variety of successful NFL cornerbacks. Jaylon Johnson checked in at 6′, 193 pounds, and ran a 4.50 40-yard dash. He also has 31 3/8″ arms.
His vertical was 36″, broad 124″, and bench was 15 reps. For agility, he had a 7.01 3-cone, and 4.13 short shuttle.
When looking at how this compares to athletes at the cornerback position, his athletic score is above average. He posted a 7.78 athletic score out of 10, with above-average size, speed, explosion, and agility. This is an NFL athlete with NFL size.
Of NFL cornerbacks who participated in the combine since 2000, the following have the closest combination of size, speed, agility, and explosion:
Sidney Jones, Sherrick McManis, Patrick Robinson, Rod Sweeting, Patrick Robinson, Nate Hairston, Mo Claiborne, Maurice Canady, M.J. Stewart, Kyle Fuller, Kendall Fuller, Joe Haden, Isaiah Oliver, Darqueze Dennard, Blidi Wreh-Wilson, and Alex Carter.
There are some misses, but Kyle Fuller and Joe Haden are some high-end outcomes with similar athletic traits. There is a lot of upside to the physical characteristics that Jaylon Johnson presents.
3. 28 pass breakups, 54.9 passer rating, 49% completion percentage allowed
This is throughout his career. As a true freshman, he stepped in as a third cornerback in the slot and saw 55 targets, according to PFF. Still, he surrendered just 26 receptions and 0 touchdowns, while adding an interception.
As a sophomore, he moved to the outside and saw 70 targets. He allowed only 38 completions and only 5.9 yards per target allowed. Lastly, in his junior year, he allowed 29 receptions on 65 targets for just 319 yards. That is only 4.9 yards per target, and his targets decreased from his sophomore campaign to his junior as teams recognized it was a bad idea.
Over that course, he had seven pass breakups as a freshman, eight as a sophomore, and 13 as a junior. Despite his reputation growing, his ball skills only improved.
Through his career, he allowed 1,009 yards, just 5.3 yards per target, and 10.8 yards per reception. According to PFF, he was targeted 12 yards down the field per pass attempt, though.
His junior year, he allowed just 44% of his passes to be complete, and a 52 passer rating allowed, both the best of his career. Through all three seasons, he did not allow a passer rating over 60. That is, elite shut down skills.
2. Deep-ball skills
Do you think the 44% completion rate allowed as a junior and 49% for his career is impressive? How about last season he allowed just four completions of ten yards or more last season. He was targeted 31 times deep and allowed four receptions, a 13% completion rate. To put that into perspective, C.J. Henderson allowed 12 receptions on 25 attempts ten yards down the field or more. That is a 48% completion rate. He is worse at allowing deep passes than Jaylon Johnson is in any area of the field.
Jeffrey Okudah allowed nine receptions on 29 targets. A 31% completion rate is more reasonable, and the Big 10 and the SEC see better quarterbacks, but Johnson faced Justin Herbert and had a much better downfield success rate than the higher drafted corners.
Okudah allowed a 46% completion rate on all passes last year, a number very similar to Jaylon Johnson. Okudah and Henderson have the physical upside a bit higher than Johnson, but Johnson is a player who should be right with these two as prospects.
1. More interceptions than touchdowns allowed
All of these stats can help paint a picture, but this one drives the point home. What is cornerback all about? Do not allow touchdowns and turn the ball over. Jaylon Johnson posted seven interceptions over his career. One as a freshman, and then as mentioned, after a four-interception sophomore campaign, his picks dropped to two. Still, he was targeted less and had more overall pass breakups.
Beyond seven interceptions, he has allowed just three touchdowns over this three-year run, including only one allowed in 2019. In no season during his career did Johnson allow more touchdowns than interceptions.
Again, to bring in the top two cornerbacks in the class, both did have more picks than touchdowns allowed as well. However, Jeffrey Okudah had just three picks, to two touchdowns allowed. It is also worth noting that Okudah had 21 career pass breakups, 12 last year, compared 28 and 13 for Johnson. Henderson allowed five touchdowns, two more than Johnson. He had six interceptions, one more than touchdowns allowed, but one interception less than Johnson. He also had 28 pass breakups, though.
So when you add their breakups and interceptions and subtract touchdowns allowed in their career, you have.
Jaylon Johnson: 32
C.J. Henderson: 29
Jeff Okudah: 22
Jaylon Johnson made more plays on the ball and allowed fewer touchdowns than both.
Many Chicago Bears fans are upset, and that is fair. However, they need to stop and appreciate that they landed an absolute stud in the second round with Jaylon Johnson.