"Gardner-Johnson played in 10 games (made seven starts) with the Bears. He finished the year with two interceptions, three sacks, four passes defended, 51 total tackles (35 solo), five tackles-for-loss, and five quarterback hits. It felt like he was stuffing the stat sheet every week."
"PFF had him down for a 51.6 overall grade (86th of 98 safeties), 45.6 coverage grade (87th), and 61.2 pass rush grade (59th). His best work, per PFF's metrics, came as a run-defender (65.5 grade put him 69th among 98 safeties), where he graded around league average."
"PFF had Gardner-Johnson down for playing 390 snaps as a slot cornerback, 269 snaps in the box, 86 snaps as a free safety, and 14 snaps as a boundary corner. Given the injury issues Chicago had in the secondary and at linebacker, that Chicago was able to deploy CJGJ in a variety of different roles helped build a bridge."
C.J. Gardner-Johnson joined the Chicago Bears in late October after being released by the Baltimore Ravens practice squad, following earlier cuts from the Houston Texans. Playing in 10 games with seven starts, Gardner-Johnson accumulated two interceptions, three sacks, four passes defended, 51 total tackles, five tackles-for-loss, and five quarterback hits. While his statistical output appeared impressive, his Pro Football Focus grades were underwhelming across coverage and overall performance metrics. However, Gardner-Johnson's true value lay in his versatility, playing 390 snaps as a slot cornerback, 269 snaps in the box, 86 snaps as a free safety, and 14 snaps as a boundary corner. This positional flexibility proved invaluable for Chicago given secondary and linebacker injury issues.
Read at Bleacher Nation
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