Jaylon Johnson speaks on Ben Johnson, Caleb Williams, Dennis Allen’s defense

Chicago Bears Pro-Bowl cornerback Jaylon Johnson joined Shannon Sharpe and Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson on the latest episode of the “Nightcap Show.”

During Johnson’s segment, he was asked a series of questions and here are the top takeaways from his guest appearance.

The Ben Johnson Effect

Since Johnson was drafted in the second round out of Utah in 2020, he has had four head coaches in Matt Nagy, Matt Eberflus, interim Thomas Brown, and now Ben Johnson.

In his time in Chicago, Johnson hasn’t experienced much team success, with the team having a 29-55 record. Although the Bears haven’t played a regular-season game under Johnson, the veteran cornerback can already tell his current head coach is unique.

“I think the message is different, honestly speaking, it's one of those things where talking to him personally and listening to him in the team meetings, he is one of us talking,” Jaylon Johnson said. “And when he gets us there, it's not like we're going to go out here and we're going to execute, and it's like, naw, it's about whooping the guys in front of you, like really dominating and instilling your will.”

Johnson also mentioned that some of the previous Detroit Lions teams “didn’t have talented guys, but they had a lot of guys that had grit as they like to say over there and guys that work hard, that are tough and things like that, so like him, that fits him.”

That grit and toughness have been on full display throughout training camp and in the Bears' first two preseason games, and it’s clear that Jaylon Johnson resonates with his head coach’s approach.

Year 2 Caleb Williams

Caleb Williams did not have an idea rookie season. His head coach and offensive coordinator were fired. His offensive line forced the quarterback to run more than he would’ve liked. The team experienced a 10-game losing streak.

Not easy for a rookie quarterback, let alone any player. And Jaylon Johnson acknowledged the “instability and all the drama that came with, of course, his (Williams) first year.”

However, those obstacles can serve as growing moments for the Bears’ quarterback.

“So really, I mean, just coming into that second year, having all that adversity under your belt, is really no worse than you can do outside of what happened with us,” Johnson said. “Really, I just feel like for him, going back to the drawing board, getting better and just coming to the building ready to work, but I mean, for him, he's always been confident. I think that’s not something that is ever going to change. I think it’s now just about execution.”

With Ben Johnson as the head coach, the interior of the offensive line revamped and more skill players around Williams, he should be far removed from the adversity that plagued him during his rookie season.

Jaylon Johnson experienced plenty of adversity in his early years in the league, dealing with injuries, head coaching changes, etc. But that didn’t prevent him from becoming the corner he is today. As long as Williams continues to work at his craft and executes as the veteran cornerback stated, the second-year quarterback will position himself to achieve individual and team success, potentially soon in his career.

Defensive Standard

Jaylon Johnson has set the bar high for himself with individual goals this upcoming season, as revealed in the “Nightcap Show.”

This will be Johnson’s sixth year in the NFL, and if the veteran cornerback is going to achieve those milestones he set for himself, he will not only need to perform but be put in a position to do so by defensive coordinator Dennis Allen

Even though Johnson has been sidelined with a leg injury that has forced him to miss all of training camp, he likes what he has been seeing from his defensive play-caller and the defense.

“Even Dennis Allen he's telling the defense we are damn near we live every day in practice, so really just that mentality as far as going and playing physical is really just, honestly, overdoing it is really what we think of really in the defensive room,” Johnson said. “Really, what we say is toe the line, toe the line between going too far and really pushing the limits.”

The defense will play with an edge this upcoming season, as long as the players hold themselves accountable, which is something Johnson has no problem with doing if he feels his teammates are not giving their all to the team.

“I think for me, my biggest thing was always, look at yourself first, and for us, I didn’t feel like we had guys that exhausted everything,” Johnson said about the team last season. “I feel like after practice, that will tell me what you really have in the team. How many guys are catching 100-plus passes on jugs, how many guys are working on technique, how many D-linemen are doing their pass-rushing drills, how many receivers are working on releases with the DBs? To me, all that goes without having to be told to you, so for me, that’s my biggest thing. Like naw, we can’t call somebody else out before we call ourselves out. We got to look at us and put the work in individually and then we can start pointing the fingers somewhat to everybody else.”

Coaches can only do so much, and Johnson has proven that he will take matters into his own hands if he feels a certain standard is not being met. But in a defensive city, as Johnson proclaimed to Sharp, it’s hard not to play with those high expectations.

Johnson was asked about all the new additions on offense and how the defense can’t take a step back this upcoming season. The veteran cornerback didn’t seem worried at all about that happening.

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“That’s our culture,” Johnson said. “ I mean tough, gritty, Chicago ball. I mean it starts with the defense, so we not really tripping. I mean, Dennis Allen leading a hell of a defense … I love me some DA right now. He ain’t rub me wrong yet, so I love DA, Al Harris, of course, is the DBs coach, and teaching us and really showing us how to take the ball away, so I mean for us on defense we ain’t worried about setting that standard. We are going to push the bar a little bit.”