With their second pick in the 2020 NFL draft the Chicago Bears General Manager, Ryan Pace filled a position of need by drafting cornerback Jaylon Johnson from the University of Utah.
Johnson is believed to be one of the best corners in this draft class and many scouts feel he was worthy of a first-round pick had it not been for the torn labrum he suffered early during his junior year.
The Bears rookie joined the Carmen & Jurko Show on Wednesday to discuss his future goals with the charter franchise and the health of his shoulder.
“It’s good [the shoulder]. I’m ready to go. I’m just trying to build as much as I can and get my body back.”
Despite his initial confidence regarding his recovery, Johnson declined to answer how many surgeries he actually had on the shoulder, but the young man does have lofty goals for his first season in a Bears uniform.
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“Definitely become a starter. That’s one. Two, I want to be rookie defensive player of the year, and then [expletive], win a Super Bowl.”
Johnson also talked about his greatest strengths and some of his weaknesses from an X’s and O’s perspective.
“Definitely cover. Not even just man to man but I do have that ability to take out number one wide receivers as I did in college. I have that presence in man coverage but also being versatile enough to be able to play zone coverage, being able to pattern-match and read offenses and read routes. So, definitely my versatility in coverage is my best attribute.”
“I don’t think I can play slot at as high of a level as I can outside just because I haven’t had too many reps at it, but I definitely learned it and got some reps at it but not as much as outside. Just zone drops and the reads from zone are a little different and happen a little faster than they do on the outside, but even in man you have a lot more space to cover whether it’s inside or outside. But definitely, I would say the zone is the hardest part.”
Johnson seems like a very confident young man that is ready to get on the field and play, which is all you can really ask from a rookie at this moment. Assuming his shoulder fully recovers, Pace may have snagged a lockdown corner to play opposite of Kyle Fuller that could make an already dominant defense even better.
