Grading Former Gators DB Chauncey Gardner-Johnson's Rookie Season

Just as he was with the Florida Gators, defensive back Chauncey "CJ" Gardner-Johnson was a playmaker in his rookie season with the New Orleans Saints.

Unapologetic, firey, and confident. Former Florida Gators defensive back Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, 5-foot-11, 208-pounds, exhibited all of these traits throughout his tenure as a member of Florida's back seven prior to declaring early for the 2019 NFL Draft.

During his rookie season, Gardner-Johnson, the 2019 fourth-round, 105th overall draft choice, showcased all of the skills learned while at Florida under multiple defensive coordinators.

As a versatile weapon in the Gators secondary, Gardner-Johnson proved his worth on defense and eventually would earn a starting role at safety during his sophomore season. During his Sophomore season, Gardner-Johnson accumulated 58 tackles (34 solos), six tackles for loss, one sack, and two interceptions.

The former Florida defensive back particularly excelled during his junior season after head coach Dan Mullen and defensive coordinator Todd Grantham moved the former safety to the team's STAR position, essentially a nickelback role within Gators' defense.

During his three-year career with the Gators, Garnder-Johnson recorded 161 tackles (92 solos), 15.5 tackles for loss, four sacks, nine interceptions, and three touchdowns.

As has been the case for prospects before Gardner-Johnson, the Florida defensive back was projected to go early in the draft - potentially in the second round -, before unexpectedly falling, primarily due to concern over where the former Gators versatile defender would play.

For the Saints, Gardner-Johnson took the field primarily as a special teams player initially, earning only spot duty early on in his career before a two-game suspension in October sidelined starting nickelback P.J. Williams. Gardner-Johnson would take full advantage of the situation, earning praise form Saints head coach Sean Payton.

“We’ve seen it in training camp,” New Orleans head coach Sean Payton said of Gardner-Johnson in October. “We’ve seen it in preseason. He’s extremely competitive, I like that about him. He plays hard and has got really good ball skills. We’ve gotten some good production out of him. In games like this when they were in a lot of four-receiver sets, you can’t have enough of those guys.”

During Williams' two-game suspension, Gardner-Johnson performed admirably in games against the Chicago Bears and Arizona Cardinals. Accounting for 11 tackles (nine solos), three tackles for loss, one quarterback hit, and four passes defended, the former Florida defensive back proved to be a steal for New Orleans rather quickly.

Due to his play, Gardner-Johnson would earn snaps in place Williams, who has been up-and-down during his four-year career with the Saints. After playing only 64 defensive snaps over the first six games of the season, the former Gator would play 373 snaps over the final 10 games of the season.

In his first full season in the NFL, Gardner Johnson accumulated 46 total tackles (35 solos), six tackles for loss, four quarterback hits, one interception, and eight passes defended.

Gardner-Johnson earned a defensive rating of 70.8, according to Pro Football Focus while allowing only 32 receptions on 51 targets for 195 yards and two touchdowns on the year. His best performance would come in a week 13 matchup against the Atlanta Falcons where the rookie would record his first career interception, allowing only two receptions for 18 yards.

11.28.19 1st of Many! pic.twitter.com/ivEnkl5LML

— C.J. Gardner-Johnson (@CGJXXIII) November 29, 2019

Gardner-Johnson looks to become a staple part of the Saints' defense next season. With the NFL moving more and more towards a nickel-base defense, his snaps should only increase over time.

As for the Gators, they hope to have rising-sophomore Kaiir Elam make more impact plays in the secondary next season after an impressive freshman year. 

-- Check out our review of former Gators right tackle Jawaan Taylor, here.

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