One of the stranger developments to come out of the early OTA sessions was the presence of Jaylon Johnson. Usually, that means the player was absent and we are all discussing if attending a voluntary event matters. However, this time Johnson is here, but the interesting reports are about where he is lining up. Currently, the Chicago Bears have Jayln Johnson running with the second-string defense.
Matt Eberflus brushed off the meaning of this, but this is not the first time these two have seemingly not been seeing eye-to-eye.
Eberflus praised players such as Roquan Smith, Darnell Mooney, and David Montgomery but then had this to say about Johnson a few weeks ago.
"“Jaylon, you know a young player, is still a work in progress. He’s got some things he’s got to work on just like all the rest of those guys that are second-and third-year players. They’ve all got to work on stuff. Just ah, just keep working and we’ll see where he goes.”"
This is not just what he is saying about every second and third-year player because he is saying different things about Mooney, Smith, and Montgomery. Those three certainly were not playing with the second string, either.
An issue perhaps started when Johnson did not attend the veteran voluntary minicamp. These OTAs are voluntary, but the 90-man roster is now here. The veteran minicamp was more about the returning players getting a head start on the new coaching viewpoints, and Johnson decided not to be there.
Nobody is faulting Johnson for missing a voluntary workout, but when you combine him missing it with Eberflus giving him a cold shoulder in the media and then add in that he is running behind Kindle Vildor you have to think that something is up.
It appears as though Eberflus is looking to pull something out of Johnson. Anyone with eyes knows that Johnson is better than Vildor, and Eberflus is one of those people. However, he may see that Johnson could step his game up even higher and be in that top tier of cornerbacks.
Eberflus is showing Johnson that he needs to work harder and needs to meet tougher expectations to be what he really can be. The question is whether this will work, or whether Johnson will see the new scheme change and think that he is not a fit, as he is already looking to get out. It certainly is not something that will be a huge story, and Johnson did not lose his job yet, but it was a message sent.