The Chicago Bears‘ defense underachieved last year. While everybody remains focused on the disappointing pass rush, the reality is that their entire unit was hamstrung by a litany of injuries. Kyler Gordon missed most of the season. T.J. Edwards missed long stretches of time with multiple issues. Grady Jarrett injured his knee. Dayo Odeyingbo tore his Achilles. Shemar Turner tore his ACL. It was a mess. Yet by far the biggest blow was Jaylon Johnson, as the star cornerback missed half the year after tearing the abductor muscle off the bone.
As a result, he didn’t perform overly well in 2025. He gave up career highs in completion percentage (72.7) and yards per completion (16.0) and allowed 122 yards after the catch in just seven games. It was definitely not up to the standard of somebody who’d just made back-to-back Pro Bowls. It seems to have also delivered a blow to his reputation around the NFL, as coaches and executives didn’t see fit to put Johnson on the latest list of top 10 cornerbacks. The best they could do was an honorable mention.
Honorable mention
Jaylon Johnson, Chicago Bears: “Time on task has been an issue. He missed a lot of camp and game action. But he’s young (27), so he should be able to get back to his top form. He’s got juice when he’s full tilt.” — NFL personnel evaluator
Doubting Jaylon Johnson comes with consequences.
Bears fans have known for years that the quarterback thrives on being doubted. It is a central part of his motivation. That started when he dropped to the 2nd round in the 2020 draft. He always felt he was disrespected after such a productive career at Utah. Since then, he’s made it his mission to show everybody they made a mistake. One would think he’d built up enough credibility in 2023 and 2024 to deserve some proper respect. Instead, it’s being shrugged off as a decent run. Now he has declined, with questions about whether he can regain his old form.
That is a big mistake. Jaylon Johnson is already one of the most self-motivated players in football. Giving him this priceless material only lights the fire further. That is not good news for the Bears’ upcoming schedule of opponents. Johnson is hard enough to deal with when he’s just his usual self. When he is on a mission to make somebody pay, the results are never good for them. Ironically, this casual dismissal of his accomplishments does him a big favor. It ensures there will be no shortage of reasons to crush everything in his way.
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The Bears’ defense gets way more dangerous in this scenario.
History has shown that Dennis Allen’s system always functions at its best when he has a top-level cornerback who can erase one half of the field. You saw it for a solid few years in New Orleans when he had Marshon Lattimore. Those exotic blitzes and coverages become far more dangerous when the opponent knows they can’t risk throwing it at guys like that. Jaylon Johnson was in that category not too long ago. He remains in his physical prime. All signs from spring practices suggest he was in excellent shape.
Presuming he avoids another major injury, the Bears will be getting a demon back in 2026. Together with new additions like Coby Bryant and Dillon Thieneman, they could field one of the more dynamic secondaries in the NFL. That would certainly make life a little easier for their pass rush, which struggled for stretches last season. If Johnson does accomplish this, he should thank ESPN for the extra boost.
