Top 25 most important Bears in 2023: No. 3 Jaylon Johnson

Shaw Local is counting down the top 25 most important Bears for the 2023 season.

What makes one player more important than another? That’s subjective, of course. But for our purposes it comes down to this: Are the Bears worse off if this player can’t play? Does this player have untapped potential or past greatness to live up to? Is his story going to be one fans follow closely this season?

The best player on the team isn’t always the most important, but he certainly can be. We will announce one player every day between now and the start of training camp.

No. 3 Jaylon Johnson

Position: Cornerback

NFL experience: Fourth season

Last year’s ranking: No. 9

Looking back: Jaylon Johnson went into last year as the clear No. 1 cornerback on the Bears’ roster, at least on paper. Even he had to earn his starting spot in OTAs, playing part of the spring session with the second-team defense. By the time camp opened, however, Johnson was where he needed to be – in the starting lineup.

His 2022 season was marked by ups and downs. He missed six games because of quad, rib and finger injuries. He frequently matched up against opponents’ best wide receivers, with generally good reviews, although there were some mistakes along the way. The Bears, however, had too many holes on defense for it to really matter. The defense ranked middle of the pack (17th out of 32 teams) against the pass, but teams ran all over them, so it didn’t matter (they ranked 31st against the run)

Johnson is a top coverage corner, but in 2022 he once again failed to create many turnovers. He had one forced fumble and one fumble recovery last season but has only one interception in his NFL career.

Looking forward: With the addition of second-round draft pick Tyrique Stevenson, the Bears should feel good about their cornerback combination of Johnson, Stevenson and Kyler Gordon. Johnson is the most seasoned of the three and will remain the No. 1 corner on this roster. The question will be: Just how much do the Bears want him following top receivers? He did that at times last year in some really big matchups, notably against A.J. Brown and the Eagles, then in other games the Bears shied away from that approach.

Johnson is entering the final year of his rookie contract in 2023. His future with the team is up in the air. He never has played a full season without missing games. Johnson could push for an extension before the season, but it feels like the organization might want to see him play more, especially with an improved cast around him.

With the talent and speed in today’s NFL, a lockdown corner is necessary in any successful defense. Johnson believes himself to be that. But do the Bears see it that way? If they don’t come to an agreement before Week 1, the 2023 season will be a make-or-break year for Johnson and the Bears.

In case you missed it: Previous installments of the top 25

• No. 25: Robert Tonyan
• No. 24: Roschon Johnson
• No. 23: Cody Whitehair
• No. 22: Velus Jones Jr.
• No. 21: Jack Sanborn
• No. 20: Teven Jenkins
• No. 19: DeMarcus Walker
• No. 18: Gervon Dexter
• No. 17: Dominique Robinson
• No. 16: Kyler Gordon
• No. 15: D’Onta Foreman
• No. 14: Tyrique Stevenson
• No. 13: Jaquan Brisker
• No. 12: T.J. Edwards
• No. 11: Khalil Herbert
• No. 10: Darnell Wright
• No. 9: Braxton Jones
• No. 8: Cole Kmet
• No. 7: Eddie Jackson
• No. 6: Chase Claypool
• No. 5 Tremaine Edmunds
• No. 4 Darnell Mooney