1. Jaylon Johnson is for real
Through two games, Johnson has given up a passer rating of 64.2 while notching five passes defensed.
In Week 1 against the Detroit Lions, rookie cornerback Jaylon Johnson had a couple of moments you could have labeled his “Welcome to the NFL” moments. Two separate occasions saw Johnson go for a tackle and the receiver had no problem shedding the attempt.
In fact, on one of those, Johnson was flat out trucked to the ground.
But, other than those two moments, Johnson’s play has been stellar. His coverage has been astounding, actually.
Rookie DB @NBAxJay1 has five PDs in his first two games, that is the second most by a rookie defender in their first 2 games since the league started tracking PDs in 1999. Marcus Peters had 7 through his first 2 games in 2015. @pfref Johnson is second in the NFL in that category.
— Bears Communications (@BearsPR) September 21, 2020
One of the reasons Bears fans loved the Johnson pick to begin with was how little he gave up in college. At Utah, he gave up just three touchdowns over his entire career there. So far in his NFL debut, he’s denied receivers the ball on the regular.
Not only is he allowing a severely low passer rating, but Johnson is the sole reason teams aren’t picking up yards on many plays. Five passes defended through two games is nearly unparalleled. To be up there with the likes of Marcus Peters who was on another planet back in 2015 proves Johnson is for real.
When the Bears hired Chuck Pagano as their defensive coordinator, fans heard a lot about his specialty being with defensive backs. Fortunately for Johnson, Pagano’s expertise looks to be a perfect sense of direction for the rookie.