With the Chicago Bears set to kick off training camp next week, there will be many storylines to follow as the team prepares for the 2021 season. One of the biggest will be the competition at cornerback, where there’s now a vacancy following the release of two-time Pro Bowler Kyle Fuller earlier this offseason due to salary cap issues.
Fuller’s release elevated second-year pro Jaylon Johnson into the top cornerback spot, where he’ll be tasked with stepping into Fuller’s shoes while Kindle Vildor, Desmond Trufant and Artie Burns compete for the starting job opposite him.
Johnson is coming off an impressive rookie season, where he earned the starting job opposite Fuller as early as Week 1. While Johnson missed the final four games (including the wild-card loss to the Saints) due to a shoulder injury, he tallied 15 passes defended in just 13 games and was among the best rookie cornerbacks.
Johnson appeared on the Jim Rome Show on Thursday, where he talked about “stepping into that responsibility” as he replaces arguably the most consistent defensive back on the Bears.
“He was a big time player for the Bears for many years and somebody I looked up to, and somebody I felt confident to be able to play alongside ” Johnson told Jim Rome. “Now it’s about being able to take everything he taught me just from professionalism, just from being able to prepare the right way and take care of your body. There’s a lot of those things he taught me.”
While Johnson was disappointed about the loss of Fuller, he knows how important it is for him to take everything he learned from him during his rookie year and go out and play as consistently as he can for this defense.
“Now, it’s going to be more enhanced and more important than ever being that I now have to be that number one guy that he was,” Johnson said. “For me, it’s just about being able to go out there and play and be as consistent as he was.”
There’s no denying that Johnson’s future is bright, and all eyes will be on him as he embraces the new CB1 role.
