5 Chicago Bears who got snubbed by the All-Pro committee
By Dakota Wayne
Chicago Bears All-Pro snub No. 2: Jaylon Johnson
Similarly to Roquan Smith when he was on the Chicago Bears, Jaylon Johnson is one of those players who constantly plays at the top of his position, yet, he pays the Bears Tax when it comes time for awards.
Bears Tax: The notion that any Chicago Bears player will NOT receive national recognition for their performance due to playing for the Chicago Bears.
And in a season where Jaylon Johnson has done everything he could to earn his much-deserved paycheck, he's not recognized as being a First-Team All-Pro.
Sure, he was selected as second-team All-Pro, but based on his performance, there's no possible way to prove Johnson wasn't better than Sauce Gardner and/or DaRon Bland: The two cornerbacks voted over Jaylon Johnson.
Da'Ron Bland | Jaylon Johnson | Sauce Gardner |
|---|---|---|
17 G; 15 PD, 9 INTs*, 5 TDs, 69 tackles (53 solo, 16 assisted), 3 TFLs, 0 FF | 14 G, 10 PD, 4 INTs, 1 TD, 36 tackles (31 solo, 5 assisted), 1 TFL, 1 FF | 16 G, 11 PD, 0 INT; 0 TD, 57 tackles (41 solo, 16 assisted), 2 TFLs, 1 FF |
In a contract year, Jaylon Johnson performed as well as he could've been asked to. In fact, he blew the expectations out of the water. For another season, Jaylon Johnson proved he's the Chicago Bears' CB1, and it really isn't close.
Jaylon Johnson: PFF's Best Coverage Defender in 2023🏆 pic.twitter.com/4RS4GsPXen
— PFF (@PFF) January 11, 2024
Not that PFF grades mean all that much, but let's see how the other corners graded to see how they faired against Mr. Second-team.
Sauce Gardner | DaRon Bland | Jaylon Johnson |
|---|---|---|
88.6 overall PFF grade | 90.4 overall PFF grade | 90.8 overall PFF grade |
Again, PFF grades aren't the only thing that matters. But, based solely on these grades, Jaylon Johnson was better.
DaRon Bland is getting the love Trevon Diggs got in 2021, yet, Diggs isn't even close to being considered the corner he was that year anymore. When you lead the league in INTs and defensive touchdowns, there's definitely an argument to be made for Bland.
The only reason I could see that Sauce Gardner got in is because his sauce at Buffalo Wild Wings needed some PR. Maybe the NFL and Buffalo Wild Wings have a partnership that gets sweeter with the more Sauce Sauce wings they sell? That's really the only reason I could see that gets Sauce Gardner First-Team All-Pro over Jaylon Johnson.
Maybe Johnson just needs to make a sauce at Buffalo Wild Wings. Maybe that'll get him a First-Team All-Pro nod.