The Bears are just days away from starting🐽 their season, and cornerback Jaylon Johnson is rea🐼dy to hit the ground running and leave the preseason hype in the dust.
Jaylon Johnson isn’t impressed with the preseason hype
“The preseason hype doesn’t move me. We’ve all got to come in here, and we’ve got to work, just top to bottom,” after the Chicago Bears completed a Labor Day walk-through at Halas Hall.
Johnson says he’s done buying into the hype surrounding the Bears this preseason and is ready to show everyone that Chicago is as good in real time as it is on paper.
“I’m done buying into the hype, honestly,” Johnson said Monday. “I feel like I’ve said it before plenty of times. I’ve had some pretty good rosters and plenty of talented people in the locker rooms where [it’s said], ‘Oh yeah, this is our year, this is our year.’
“Everything that we’ve got in this locker room sounds good, it seems good, but none of that matters. What matters is what we’re going to do this weekend and from every Sunday or Monday, whatever game it is. That’s when it matters.”
Johnson is one of the top cornerbacks in the NFL, and his 2023 season earned him a new contract, but he was still a little scorned by the lack of national recognition. Johnson outperformed New York’s Sauce Gardener and Dallas’ DaRon Bland, yet they were named the AP All-Pro first-teamers. Johnson was left off the NFL’s Top 100 list this summer. Johnson plans to leave zero doubt about himself this season, with “complete dominance” being the goal.
“My mentality, regardless if I get targets or not, is complete dominance,” he said. “And I don’t need to have a ball thrown at a receiver to know he was never open. If they do throw, it’s a wasted rep for them. I expect to win every rep, every one-on-one, every chance I get. I don’t expect to lose. I don’t think I’m losing. Every snap, I’m going into it thinking the ball’s coming.”
Almost there …
The Bears had a walk-through on Monday and a day off today. After today’s off day, they’ll practice in pads tomorrow and shells on Thursday and Friday. Their season opener against the Tennessee Titans is just five days away.
“Labor Day practice today was good,” said Head Coach Matt Eberflus. “We had some good work. Really, today is just about getting back into it. I always like to be able to throw the ball around a little bit and do some individual, focus on some fundamentals there. Of course, we had the bonus week. So we had some time to get a head start on Tennessee. We did that last week a little bit with the Wednesday, Thursday practice. So we feel good where we are.”
More from the Bears head coach:
Jaylon Johnson might not care for the outside hype, but that doesn’t mean it’s going anywhere
Just look at Pro Football Talk’s Week 1 NFL Power Rankings, which dropped this morning. Mike Florio has the Bears opening the season at No. 13.
Is No. 13 too high? Perhaps. But not by much. I would probably move the Cowboys and Rams up to that spot and land on the Bears, falling to 15. ‘s Week 1 Power Rankings have the Bears checking in at No. 16, and Sports Illustrated , which is too low, in my opinion.
Some thoughts on the Bears’ first unofficial depth chart of the season
Khalil Herbert will open the season as RB2 behind D’Andre Swift. During the preseason, Herbert and second-year running back Roschon Johnson were listed as an “OR” option behind Swift. Still, injuries hampered Johnson during the exhibition slate, and Herbert looked expectedly good and won the primary backup job.
Coleman Shelton is the man at center for the Bears, with Ryan Bates listed as LG2 behind Teven Jenkins. Bates can work at both gua🌄♑rd spots if called upon and will likely be the starting center if Shelton is sidelined with an injury despite Doug Kramer being listed as the backup on the depth chart.
The First 2024 Chicago Bears Depth Chart is HERE
As we saw in the preseason, the Bears have scrapped a linebacker position and added a third cornerback position on the depth chart for Week 1. Chicago played a bunch of 4-2-5 during the preseason, and it seems they’ll continue to do so during the regular season, getting Kyler Gordon on the field for as many downs as possible, which seems like a clever play. If there are questions about the defensive front and their potential to generate pressure with four-man rushes, then having an extra cornerback on the field often seems like an intelligent solution.
Congrats to Amen Ogbongbemiga, who passed Noah Sewell on the depth chart at weakside linebacker behind T.J. Edwards. Ogbongbemiga’s strong preseason parlayed into an elevated role during the regular season, again speaking to the competitiveness within the roster.
Friday’s Mailbag
With Week 1 here, our Bears mailbag will return on Friday. Drop your questions in the comments below or send them to me at [email protected]!
