JOHNSON
Jaylon

• 1. Professional career

Jaylon Lawrence Johnson is an American football cornerback for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Utah.

Professional career

Johnson was drafted by the Chicago Bears with the 50th overall pick in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft. He signed a four-year rookie contract with the team on July 21. Johnson made his NFL debut in the Bears' Week 1 match up against the Detroit Lions. Johnson had six combined tackles and three passes defended, including a pass deflection in the endzone as time expired to secure the Bears' 27–23 comeback win. Johnson missed the Bears' final three games of the 2020 season due to a shoulder injury. Johnson finished his 2020 rookie season with 44 combined tackles, no interceptions, and 15 passes defended.

The following season, Johnson became the Bears' top cornerback after former teammate Kyle Fuller was released in a salary cap move. On September 19, 2021, Johnson recorded his first career interception after he picked off a pass thrown by Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow. Through the first two weeks of the season, on all passes to players he was covering, Johnson only allowed one reception, while knocking down three attempts and intercepting a pass. This earned him the highest rated pass coverage grade (an advanced stat that measures the ability to cover receivers) in the league through that point. On November 25, Johnson recorded a career-high 6 tackles and forced a fumble in a 16–14 Thanksgiving Day win over the Detroit Lions.

The Bears fired head coach Matt Nagy after the 2021 season and hired Matt Eberflus, who implemented a 4-3 defensive scheme. Johnson did not attend the team's voluntary offseason training session, and was subsequently placed on the second team defense behind Kindle Vildor and Kyler Gordon. He reclaimed his starting position during the team's mandatory offseason workouts. Johnson was placed on injured reserve on December 23 after breaking his right ring finger. Eberflus confirmed Johnson could have potentially returned, but the team did not want to risk Johnson injuring his finger any further. He started in 11 games for the Bears in 2022, where he recorded seven pass defenses and a forced fumble.