Commentary: Jaylon Johnson worth a new contract with Bears |
It has been a long time since the Chicago Bears had a lockdown corner, with Kyle Fuller coming to mind as the last one. Since his departure three years ago, the Bears have been trying to find a new No. 1 option capable of being a lockdown corner, but haven't had much luck despite taking several young defensive backs in early rounds. Eventually, you had to think one of those draft picks would pan out, and it does appear that fourth-year corner Jaylon Johnson is not only panning out, but he has started to cement himself as the lockdown corner this team needed.
Still just 24 years old, Johnson was the Bears second-round pick of the 2020 NFL and was viewed as one of the significant steals in his class. Although the numbers haven't always been there in terms of the turnovers, Johnson has steadily improved each season to the point where he is the team's no. 1 and most trusted CB right now and is hovering around the lockdown status. The 6-0 196-pound Johnson has everything you look for in a corner, including the physicality to compete with some of the bigger WRs in the league. Across his 44 career NFL games, Johnson has picked up three interceptions, with all three coming that past two seasons. That includes two this season, as he is starting to create the turnovers as opposed to just breaking up passes on the defensive end. Seeing the Bears and Johnson engaged in extension talks shouldn't surprise anyone, as he was pleading for a new deal this offseason only to come away empty when training camp broke. Now, 24 hours after his two-interception game against Brian Hoyer, the Bears have not only opened up those extension talks, but as the days have gone by, those talks are progressing in the right direction. There is no question that Johnson is a terrific player and is by far the best DB on this team. Anytime you have a secondary with three players under 25 years of age and an aging veteran in Eddie Jackson, it is nice to have someone you can count on every week. Johnson is that guy, and teams are starting to take notice of that. With the eventual hope that Jaquon Brisker and Kyler Gordon can make a lethal combo alongside Johnson, the Bears are trying to do whatever they can to lock down their leader, as he is the most important player in their secondary right now. During his weekly appearance on 670 The Score, Johnson talked about his extension talks being encouraging at this stage, but also went into further detail. When asked about his current contract negotiations, Johnson had this to say on air. "Yeah, I mean, it's a process, but things are, I would say, hopefully starting to ramp up. We'll see where things go, especially in this next week before the trade deadline." That may not be as encouraging as some would like it to be, but when you hear the words ramping up, it tends to mean positive traction is being made. That is the most significant point to take away from all of this, especially with this happening during the deadline week, as Ryan Poles has made it clear that they will not be as aggressive as they were a season ago. While Johnson may want this extension, it will ultimately come down to his reps and the teams to talk numbers and figure out what a fair market rate for him will be. Sure, he is going to get a ton of cash, but when you compare his numbers to some of the other top corners in the league, they are not even close to comparing. That alone could hurt Johnson a bit in terms of his annual salary, but he will get a hefty offer that could make him close to the highest-paid DB in Bears history. If I could guess where the number range will fall, look for something in the four or five-year range, plus the rookie option topping out between 60-70 million. It's a steep price, but one worth dishing out for one of the more consistent corners in the game the past three seasons.
