Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson is coming off an encouraging rookie season. But he’ll be the first to tell you it was far from successful. Not by his standards.
Johnson didn’t accomplish what he wanted to, which starts with his zero interceptions in 2020. But amid questions at the cornerback position this season, Johnson is the one constant and the player many anticipate taking a big leap in his sophomore season.
Johnson’s teammate, safety Tashaun Gipson, believes Johnson is poised for a breakout season, where he has the potential to become a top five cornerback in the NFL. Sorry, not potential. Gipson fully believes Johnson will become one of the league’s best cornerbacks.
“I’ll tell y’all again he’s going to be a top five cornerback,” Gipson said. “I mean that and I’m telling y’all straight faced. Some of the things that I’ve seen him do is just impressive. I don’t think people really realize Jaylon is a bigger corner. He’s put together. He can run, he can move, he can do everything necessary for a cornerback. He can tackle. He’s not scared to put his nose in there.”
Gipson has been around for awhile, so he’s seen a lot of cornerbacks in his time in the NFL. But there’s one former teammate that comes to mind when comparing the jump Gipson believes Johnson is poised to make in Year 2 — Los Angeles Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey.
“I told [Johnson] ‘I see that jumps that you made from your rookie year to right now was similar to a guy that I knew in Jacksonville who’s now the highest paid corner in the league,'” Gipson said. “It’s just a different focus that [Johnson] has right now. I think that he is locked in right now to the point where we’re going to be talking 10 weeks from now and I’m going to remind y’all what I said because I believe in him that much, not even just as a player [but] as a person. He’s a good young kid and he’s going to have a long career.”
The comparisons to Ramsey are high praise, especially from someone who watched Ramsey’s rise to fame during his time in Jacksonville.
Funny enough, Johnson and Ramsey will meet in Week 1 on Sunday Night Football, where Johnson has a chance to take a step forward to proving Gipson right.
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