The Bears really needed to address the secondary with defensive back and safety help, and that’s what they went for with their other second round pick Friday night selecting Jaylon Johnson out of Utah at No. 50.
After cutting Prince Amukamara, the Bears had a huge hole opposite Kyle Fuller and needed to address the situation in the draft at some point. Enter Jaylon Johnson.
In 2018, Johnson had his best collegiate career. He finished the season with 41 total tackles, 2 TFL, 1 Sack, and 4 INT. He had a bit of a drop off in 2019, finishing the season with 36 total tackles, 1 TFL, and 2 INT, but it was revealed he played the whole season with a torn labrum. That’s some solid play over the course of 13 games, with an injury that could really limit a CB’s effectiveness. Playing through the injury is a testament to his toughness and dedication to stick it out with his guys.
Pros
- Physical CB
- Really good size for a corner at 6’0″ 193 lbs.
- Seems really smart and uses that to throw off WRs technique, identify routes, and excel in different coverages
- Good vertical to defend jump balls
Cons
- Shoulder injuries can linger
- Has trouble covering quick/sudden WRs
- Overaggresiveness is a blessing and a curse which causes him to to get burned occasionally
- Gets caught staring down the backfield occasionally
Many analysts had Johnson as a top CB, and many thought that if not for his shoulder injury, he might have been off the board before making it to the Bears… or even the 2nd round for that matter:
.@MoveTheSticks on the Chicago Bears drafting the 50th pick CB Jaylon Johnson — “I think you can argue they got two first-round players [in Cole Kmet and Jaylon Johnson].”
— NFL Media (@NFLMedia) April 25, 2020
No one would have blinked if Jaylon Johnson had been picked in the 20s of the first round. Excellent value for the Bears.
— Dan Pompei (@danpompei) April 25, 2020
"The value is exceptional. I'm not going to be surprised if he is better than Kyler Fuller within a year or two."
– Bleacher Report NFL expert Matt Miller on Jaylon Johnson(Via B/R YouTube Live)
— Daniel Greenberg (@ChiSportUpdates) April 25, 2020
All signs point to Johnson being a steal at pick #50, and if he ends up being better than Fuller? A Pro-Bowl caliber CB at pick 50 is definitely a steal. The Bears addressed a need and Johnson should be considered a Day-1 starter opposite Kyle Fuller. Only time will tell, but so far, so good for Ryan Pace in the 2020 draft. More work to be done the rest of the weekend.
One last stat for all you stat heads out there… check out this tweet from PFF:
Chicago's newest CB Jaylon Johnson career at Utah:
1,256 Coverage snaps
3 TDs allowed pic.twitter.com/CPF71nF2W9— PFF Draft (@PFF_College) April 25, 2020
1200+ coverage snaps and only 3 TD’s allowed? Yeah, I think he’s gonna fit in just fine down on the Lakefront.
Welcome to Chicago, Jaylon.
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