Bears Need Jaylon Johnson's to Get in a Zone

Jaylon Johnson stood out in man-to-man coverage last year but in Year 2 they need him to take over the lockdown cornerback role Kyle Fuller had and that means playing better zone defense.

A line of thinking on Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson is offenses will take it a little easier on him this year.

Or maybe he'll just be getting tougher on them.

With cornerback Kyle Fuller gone, the younger cornerback is no longer the obvious target for the quarterback. Offenses targeted Fuller 5.18 times per game and Johnson 6.0 times so maybe the disparity changes.

Sure, he's still younger and more inexperienced than veteran acquisition Desmond Trufant on the other side. However, Trufant is on his third team in three years and passers can be a little like sharks with blood in the water if they sense someone struggling on the back half of their career.

Besides, Johnson is probably capable of standing up on his own two feet this year as the team's strongest coverage cornerback.

Johnson was a rookie starter on the right side and had to endure a true baptism by fire last year. So it's likely to get easier for him than last year, anyway.

"We got a lot of confidence in Jaylon Johnson and his growth in his second season," Bears GM Ryan Pace said.

The trial by fire last year included starting is first NFL game in the opener with no preseason game as a tune up, no minicamp, no organized team activities, and only Zoom meetings until a shortened, belated training camp. It was hardly the ideal way to break in, but Johnson survived and even flourished at times.

"Any time you're a young guy, you play at a level that he played at last year, which he played well and it's tough for a rookie especially with no OTAs, some of the things that he went through practice time-wise that he missed, he's only going to get better," Bears defensive backs coach Deshea Townsend said.

Johnson won't get faster, stronger or jump higher because of a year of experience and now some offseason training for the first time. He'll just have better technique and be less of an obvious target after proving he could stay with the X-receivers of the league on the right side of the Bears defense.

A better pass rush could help all the secondary. They had only 35 sacks last year, although they did achieve respectable pressure.

Johnson made 15 pass defenses, tied for sixth in the league and almost twice the total Fuller made.

Jaylon Johnson was a ROOKIE https://t.co/yAftbvzYV4

— Justin Price (@jmpricemedia) May 24, 2021

The Bears used him extensively in press coverage and he made it work, for the most part. Johnson allowed only 56.4% completions (44) on those 78 targets, but a fast start began to fade for him and he eventually allowed five TD passes and a passe rating against of 107.5 when targeted.

Upon closer examination through Pro Football Focus, Johnson ranked fifth among all rookie cornerback since 2016 at man-to-man coverage grade and recorded the best rate of forced incompletions (21.2%) of any rookie cornerback playing the outside since PFF started grading players in 2006. For these reasons, PFF's Anthony Treash classified Johnson one of six rookies likely to break out in 2021.

A factor which could aid Johnson more this year in improving at zone coverage is the return of safety Tashaun Gipson, who most often can be found lining up closer to the right cornerback in the Bears scheme.

Losing Johnson to a shoulder injury, as well as nickel cornerback Buster Skrine and inside linebacker Roquan Smith to injuries for the playoff game with New Orleans proved devastating for the Bears defense.

Now healthy, the Bears are counting on familiarity breeding success. In Johnson's second season he'll know teammates and the scheme better, as well as what to expect from opposing offenses.

Jaylon Johnson at a glance

Career: Second season, 44 tackles, 15 pass defenses, 5 TDs allowed.

The number: 0. No interceptions as a rookie will be a source of motivation for the former Utah cornerback.

2021 Projection: 12 pass defenses, 2 interception, 3 TDs allowed, 57 tackles.

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