The Chicago Bears did not sign Jaylon Johnson before the season. Whether the Bears were waiting to see if Johnson could perform better or if Johnson was betting on his skill set to make him more money this year, it ended up working out in a big way. Not only is Johnson having the best year of his career, he is having a year that will have him listed as one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL. Jaylon Johnson should make the All-Pro team this year. Here is why.
3. Jaylon Johnson is not allowing yards for the Chicago Bears
Jaylon Johnson missed three games, but when he was on the field, teams did not target him. He leads the NFL in snaps per target, tied with Sauce Gardner. That is because he is not giving up any yards. Johnson is currently allowing 0.36 yards per coverage snap. That is the best in the NFL. For perspective, Sauce Gardner is second at 0.47, Jalen Ramsey is fourth with 0.56, and Marlon Humphrey is fifth at 0.6. These are some of the top cornerbacks in the NFL, and Johnson is not just in the same stat range as them; he is much better than them at the top.
Even when he is targeted, it does not result in yards. Johnson leads the NFL in yards per target among qualified cornerbacks, allowing 3.8 yards per target. The next best is Michael Carter at 4.3.
L’Jarius Sneed, Sauce Gardner, and Jalen Ramsey round out the top five, while Marlon Humphrey is eighth. Still, Humphrey is at 6 yards per target, showing how much better Jaylon Johnson is compared to his peers.
Most analysts would have Humphrey, Ramsey, Gardner, and Sneed in the conversation for the All-Pro every year. Johnson is not only with them, he looks better. While those names are more known because this is not the first year they have been ranked this highly, they do not have the same caliber of season that Jaylon Johnson is.
2. The Chicago Bears are getting ball production from Jaylon Johnson
Jaylon Johnson has always been good in coverage. The difference this year is less about yards allowed and more about Johnson finally getting his hands on the football. He has always had a good pass breakup rate. Per PFF, he had an 18.4% forced incompletion rate, which is top 15 in the NFL. Sauce Gardner has just as many PBUs and an 18.8% FI rate.
Johnson has four interceptions, which is third most among cornerbacks. This is four times more than his entire career. Even better than that is the pick-six. Daron Bland is the only cornerback with more ball production this season.
However, Bland is allowing 1.05 yards per coverage snap and 6.8 yards per target. Johnson is not picking off the ball quite as much, but on the other side he is allowing 0.36 yards per snap, and 3.8 yards per target, which is significantly better than Bland.
He has the ball production of Bland and the shut-down nature of Sauce Gardner. While the media will be debating one or the other, Jaylon Johnson is the best candidate for both.
1. Teams avoid targeting Jaylon Johnson
One of the biggest compliments paid to Johnson is how far teams go out of their way to avoid him. For example, rookie cornerback Tyrique Stevenson is fourth in the NFL in targets allowed. That includes Stevenson missing one week and platooning the last three weeks with fellow rookie Terell Smith.
He ranks second in targets per coverage snaps. Stevenson has not been a nightmare this year, and for how often he gets targeted, he has started to come alive in recent weeks. Still, this is not about Stevenson and more about Johnson.
When Johnson is against a certain wide receiver, teams will just go the other way. This is the ultimate sign of respect for a cornerback: the fact that he is not tested and that teams will force the ball anywhere else.
Jaylon Johnson followed Adam Thielen at times in the Chicago Bears win over the Carolina Panthers. He has not been asked to do it much, but when a team just has one target, he has shown he can shut down that option all game. There is not much that Johnson has not shown this season when discussing the chances of him making the All-Pro team. The only thing holding him back would be a lack of name recognition.