Jaylon Johnson has received plenty of praise from his NFL peers over the past few months. Star wide receivers Davante Adams and Cooper Kupp mentioned him as somebody who doesn’t get talked about enough. Chicago Bears fans believe it. They’ve watched the young cornerback ascend from unheralded rookie to immediate starter. Now he has a case for being the third-best player on the entire defense behind Roquan Smith and Robert Quinn.
Considering the Bears had the #3 pass defense in the league last season, one would think Johnson might get some well-deserved love from the latest Madden 23 ratings. He held a 77 overall grade at the start of last year. The good news is that the mark improved. Sadly, it didn’t put him anywhere close to the top of the cornerback rankings. Far from it, actually. There were a total of 21 names with grades higher than his.
Jaylon Johnson won’t get respect until he fixes the big issue.
The reality is most fans don’t take the time watching hours of tape to determine who the best players are. They often go by the easiest measuring stick: stats. Few numbers determine how good a cornerback is in the NFL than interceptions. Through two seasons, Johnson has one. If people ask why he hasn’t gotten more notoriety, they can draw a big red circle around that number. He can play great coverage all he wants. One does not stand among the best corners in the game if he can’t take the ball away.
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Trevon Diggs was taken in the same draft two years ago. He already has 14 interceptions. Mind you; he’s given up only one less touchdown than Jaylon Johnson has. Nobody cares about that because he offsets those mistakes with big plays. It is hard to understand why the Bears corner hasn’t gotten more. He had six during his final two years at Utah, including two pick-sixes. It isn’t like he can’t make plays on the ball. It just hasn’t happened.
Perhaps shifting to Matt Eberflus’ 4-3 defense will be the adjustment he needs. That defense is built around taking the ball away. Johnson will be required to make that the focus of his game. If he can finally break through on the stat sheet, he’ll get the respect he deserves.
Madden never has given Bears good ratings.
Not sure what defensive scheme Utah played, but I know switching from Man to Man coverage (eyes mostly on WR) to Zone coverage (Eyes on QB) will greatly benefit his stats in retrospect to Interceptions. I can see him getting 3+ Ints this coming season!
When has a Madden Rating ever won a football game…..DUH!
Exactly. People look way too much into a madden rating.
It’s a video game rating.
Means absolutely nothing on the field.