Jaylon Johnson has not quite been the “Revis Island” version of a shut-down cornerback, but in today’s NFL, the Chicago Bears ascending CB has slowly been climbing the ranks of top cornerbacks in the NFL. This season he added the ability to follow wide-outs to his arsenal.
While he did follow Davante Adams give up 76 yards, which is far below the average rate Adams has put up the past three years. Beyond that, one big catch came in the slot where Johnson is playing for the first time as a shadow-corner.
So, while Adams did not rip Johnson a new one, he went into the Bucs game ready to follow Mike Evans. With Antonio Brown out and Chris Godwin in the slot, it was obvious to follow Evans.
Johnson held Evans to 76 yards, but Evans is not quite Adams, and the big issue was that Evans hauled in two touchdowns with Johnson matched upon him.
What is interesting to note is that Jaylon Johnson has allowed seven career touchdowns. With a touchdown in 2020 as well, Mike Evans has scored three of the seven against him.
Even more notable is that of the seven, three came in red-zone situations where he happened to be matched up against a tight end. The other was a pass to Marvin Jones where Jaylon Johnson sat in zone but had no one over the top of him.
List of players who caught touchdowns against Jaylon Johnson
Mike Evans – 3
Marvin Jones – 1
Jared Cook – 1
Marcedes Lewis – 1
Jesse James – 1
It is easy to forgive losing on pick plays or tight goal line jump passes, and beyond that Johnson has been elite at keeping his man out of the end zone.
However, against Mike Evans, he has lost physically in man coverage all three times. That is him against a wideout with no picks, screens, or anything and Evans has found pay dirt three times.
On one hand, it is impressive that Johnson has done so well against all other wide-outs. On the other, you have to give respect to Evans for being a matchup nightmare for Johnson. His combination of size and technique is not something you see often and seems to be one of the few things that give Jaylon Johnson fits.