5 pleasant surprises for Chicago Bears in the first half of 2023 season

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Las Vegas Raiders v Chicago Bears, Tyrique Stevenson, Jaylon Johnson
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2. The Chicago Bears are seeing the best of Jaylon Johnson 

The Chicago Bears needed to see the best out of Jaylon Johnson this year. They wanted to pay him like a number one cornerback, but he needed to show that he could do everything that a top cornerback could do. After four or five weeks, it looked like that would not be the case, but that was mainly due to health. Now that he is healthy, he is looking like he deserves a big contract. 

Johnson has sticky coverage, but he leans heavily towards zone coverage and usually just plays his one side. He also did not have any interception numbers to look at. 

Johnson doubled his interception numbers with two against the Las Vegas Raiders, including his first career pick-six for a touchdown.

Against the Carolina Panthers, he followed Adam Thielen around and even spent eight snaps in the slot against Thielen. He had a great game. 

Johnson has been targeted just 19 times since week six, and he has allowed 68 yards. That is just 13 yards per game. Teams are now treating him like a number one, and he is playing like one. What a great surprise.