While he hasn’t yet played a snap for the Chicago Bears, rookie cornerback Jaylon Johnson already carries a chip on his shoulders.
Johnson, the Bears’ 50th overall draft selection, was the seventh cornerback taken in the 2020 NFL Draft. And that’s something that Johnson takes offense to. He believes that he’s the best cornerback in this draft class, and six other teams passed him up.
To be fair, the Bears got an absolute steal in Johnson in the second round due to concerns about his shoulder. Appearing on ChicagoBears.com’s Meet the Rookies series, Johnson talked about using that as motivation for his rookie season.
“From what I was able to do in college and the level I was able to do it at, I didn’t think there were six cornerbacks that should’ve been taken ahead of me,” Johnson said. “At the end of the day, that’s just more fuel to my fire. Even if I was the first one taken, I still would’ve found something to motivate me in some way, shape or form to keep me going. Just being, like you said, the seventh corner taken…it just makes we want to go to work even more.”
Johnson’s confidence is hard to miss, especially given the lofty goals he’s already set for himself in 2020. Earlier this offseason, Johnson told ESPN 1000’s Carmen & Jurko Show that his three goals this year are to become a starter his rookie season, win Rookie Defensive Player of the Year and win a Super Bowl.
Watch Johnson’s episode of Meet the Rookies below:
