Bear Digest

Jaylon Johnson Walter Payton Nominee

Respect is what Jaylon Johnson is all about and he's winning it in various ways even without the Pro Bowl.

Gene Chamberlain

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Cornerback Jaylon Johnson doubts he'll get named to the Pro Bowl, although what he does after the Bears return from bye week might change this.

For now, a couple other distinctions must suffice.

The Bears named Johnson their Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee for the community service work he does funding The Kevvy's Vision Project, a group named for his childhood friend Kev'Vion Schrubb.  Johnson's friend lost his life in 2021 to gun violence. The organization is dedicated to improving opportunity for overlooked communities in Fresno, his hometown.

Along with the nomination, Johnson gets to wear a WPMOY sticker on his helmet the rest of the season and hopes to join Charles Tillman, Jim Flanigan, Mike Singletary, Dave Duerson and, of course, Walter Payton, as past Bears to win the award.

The other honor was one accorded him by Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

Although the Packers rallied to beat the Bears 28-19, Rodgers referred to Johnson as "a premier player." To Johnson, it means something.

"I would just say confirmation about what I believe in myself," Johnson said. "Somebody else being a believer in that, I feel like that's not something gets thrown around lightly from him I feel like it just goes back to having a certain body of work and I feel like to that respect came last year guarding Davante (Adams)—and not just being on him but actually being able to limit his production, being able to limit what they do and them having to make adjustments based on my production on him.

"And I feel like it just really just goes back to like, consistency. I felt like from what he may see out of me, but I feel like it's just what I believe in myself and he's been able to see that watching film and playing against me over the last few years."

Even with Rodgers' respect, Fields isn't sure that he's going to earn Pro Bowl votes. There is no actual Pro Bowl now, only a flag football game and a week-long skills competition, but being named is still an honor.

"I'm going to say no and the fact that I feel like the Pro Bowl comes from popularity, and popularity comes from making highlight plays," Johnson said of his chances of making it. "And I wouldn't feel that I've had enough highlight plays to say, 'Oh, I deserve the Pro Bowl.'

"Am I a Pro Bowl-caliber player? Hell yeah. But I feel like it comes with the picks, the picks are looked at as highlight plays–no matter if it's a tipped pick, you were beat on a play, the dude falls to the ground, ball pops up. You get two or three of those, 'Oh yeah, he's a good guy, he's got three picks.' You were beat. But it's like for me, I haven't been in those predicaments, I haven't gotten any tip picks, I haven't gotten those opportunities in the league."

There's another reason he thinks he won't get votes. It's the Bears' 3-10 record.

"And I feel like also, two, being on a losing team, people look down on everything you do individually," he said. "It's kind of like, 'Oh, the Bears are a (blank)show. The Bears are this. The Bears are that.'

So, it's like it's hard to gain popularity votes when there's so much negativity from the outside in."

Johnson can only go about trying to win more respect by facing more top receivers.

He'll definitely get a chance at that after the bye: A.J. Brown, Devonta Smith, Stefon Diggs, Gabriel Davis and Justin Jefferson are all still on the schedule.

"I mean, I can only take one at a time," Johnson said. "For me, I don't want to say I circle the games but I just look forward to those matchups: A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Diggs, all those guys, Gabe Davis.

"I mean, those premier matchup guys, like I've said from Day 1 since I got in this building, it's something I want. It's really just one week at a time. I'm going to take this week. I'm going to win this week. I'm going to go prepare for the next week. I'm going to win that week. And just go from there, really."

Win this week? 

The Bears play again Dec. 18. There is no game this week.

"I mean, the way I look at it is I can't lose on the bye week," Johnson said. "Just go 1-0 this week. So I mean I'm happy about that."

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.

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