Where advanced stats rank Chicago Bears Jaylon Johnson

While defensive statistics are not the best gauge of a player with so much out of their control, we have started to get a little better with new data coming into the NFL sphere. So, what do some of the advanced stats say about the Chicago Bears’ third-year cornerback Jaylon Johnson?

Three valuable metrics for tracking cornerback success are yards per target, adjusted yards per attempt, and yards allowed after the catch per reception. These make sense for a variety of reasons. One, no matter the coverage if you are targeted, you get the yards given to you on that target. Adjusted yards per attempt is a similar look but adds in the impact of interceptions and touchdowns allowed. Then, yards after the catch are how quick can you get someone down. If you allow a high yards per target and low YAC, you get targeted deep down the field, and vice versa.

Of 81 qualified cornerbacks, Jaylon Johnson ranked 44th in yards per target. Some names at the top include A.J. Terrell, Adoree Jackson, Tre White, and Jamel Dean while names at the bottom include Kindle Vildor, Trevon Diggs, Kyle Fuller, and Josh Norman.

There are some big names at the bottom, but we know that Norman and Fuller are past their time and that Diggs lives and dies by the pick. Seeing Vildor as the worst yards per target player is no shock.

Meanwhile, Jaylon Johnson ranks 63rd in adjusted yards per attempt. It makes sense that he is worse in this area than yards per attempt because he did not record an INT, and allowed six touchdowns last season.

Meanwhile, Trevon Diggs is 80th in yards per attempt, but 30th in adjusted yards per attempt because he does not give up TDs, and picks off passes. He is the biggest riser, but there are plenty of movers up and down the list.

Diggs, Amani Oruwirye, JC Jackson, and Rasul Douglas were the most positively impacted, while Marco Wilson, Jalen Mills, and Fabien Moreau did not help their causes. Overall, Terrell, Douglas, Jackson, and White are the top four in this stat, and many see them all as top cornerbacks last season.

On the flip side, Vildor, Fuller, Norman, and Marco Wilson round out the bottom of adjusted yards allowed.

Lastly, we see yards after the catch per reception allowed. Jaylon Johnson ranks 56th here. The best at stopping yards after the catch are Fabian Moreau, Terrance Mitchell, and Adoree Jackson while the worst are Diggs, Kristian Fulton, and Marlon Humphrey. It does not appear to hurt the cornerbacks who allow yards after the catch, as they appear to be players who rose up the playmaker rankings in adjusted yards per catch.

Taron Johnson, AJ Terrell, and Tre White saw a lot of their yards allowed come after the catch, while Kindle Vildor saw the biggest difference in his yards allowed versus his yards after the catch. Teams were attacking him downfield and finding success.

Johnson ranked 36th in the difference between his yards allowed and yards after the catch. Overall, it was not the year he wanted.

You saw how Terrell was efficient in almost every area. On the flip side, Diggs was boom and bust, but you saw in most cases the booms were worth the busts. Johnson was more consistent than Diggs, but not nearly the playmaker, and he was not on the same efficiency level as A.J. Terrell.

It will be interesting to see how the upcoming year can impact the perception of Jaylon Johnson compared to two of his closest peers.