The Bears signed C.J. Gardner-Johnson a mere 12 days ago, mostly in desperation, and it’s hard to believe the degree of impact he has already provided. Through two games, he has 12 tackles, 3 sacks, 1 FF, and a ton of energy within a unit that was hanging on by a thread.
A reminder – the Bears have been hit hard by the injury bug in their secondary.
- CB Jaylon Johnson underwent surgery on a core muscle, and has missed nearly the entire season and is believed to be out until at least late in the season.
- CB Kyler Gordon has missed all but two games while he deals with groin and calf injuries. He can return as early as Week 12 against the Steelers.
- CB Terell Smith is out for the season with a torn patellar tendon.
- CB Zah Frazier is out for the season with a personal issue.
- CB Tyrique Stevenson has missed two games due to various injuries.
- CB Josh Blackwell left Week 9’s game against the Bengals due to a concussion.
It’s hard to survive when you are running out 3rd stringers in your secondary. Enter C.J. Gardner-Johnson.
Many of us already know Gardner-Johnson due to
his “irritator” status across the league. He was infamously punched by Bears legend Javon Wims, and dealt with a variety of team fit and injury issues in Philadelphia, Detroit, and most recently Houston.
While his personality was fairly or unfairly questioned at times, his production has never been an issue. In 79 career games, he has accumulated 18 INTs, 51 PDs, 3 FFs, 7 sacks, 25 TFLs, and 334 total tackles. If the start of his Bears career is any indication, then he is clearly a versatile piece with a nose for making impact plays.
At the time of the signing, many fans viewed him as a stopgap solution to provide a veteran presence while we got healthy. Now, there are fans already asking that we extend him.
His fit within the defense is obvious while Kyler Gordon rehabs – a slot CB that can cover twitchy WRs, stand up physically to TEs, and be an effective blitzer off of the edge. But when Gordon comes back, a player who is largely the same scheme fit in Dennis Allen’s defense, is there still room for Gardner-Johnson on the field?
Should C.J. Gardner-Johnson start when Kyler Gordon returns?
My answer? You have to say yes until he shows you otherwise. Now, I am not saying that Kyler Gordon should be benched in favor of Gardner-Johnson – that would be a big mistake. However, I think that Dennis Allen is smart enough to scheme them both into significant roles on the defense. To me, it looks like this:
- Base Package: Dime
- Personnel Package #1: (4) DL, (2) LBs, (3) CBs, (2) Safeties
- In this situation, you have Tyrique Stevenson as your lone outside CB. Kyler Gordon is strong enough in coverage to line up outside.
- You can line Gardner-Johnson at slot, where he can hand off a receiver to the LBs, or blitz.
- Allen can mix up his coverages where Gordon can blitz off of the corner, and Edmunds/Edwards can cover a short zone, and Brisker/Byard can cover deep zones.
- Personnel Package #2: (4) DL, (1) LB, (4) CBs, (2) Safeties
- In this situation, you would sub out TJ Edwards and have Gordon slot in as a pseudo-linebacker, where he covers the middle of the field, but presents a unique blitzing challenge. He is strong enough against the run to manage things in Edwards place.
- Nashon Wright would still be on the field to cover an outside corner, especially in clear passing downs.
- This package is great if you need to have max coverage on the back end, but still want to have several fast and capable blitzers off of the edge. Gordon, Brisker, Gardner-Johnson, and Edmunds are all good in that role.
- Personnel Package #1: (4) DL, (2) LBs, (3) CBs, (2) Safeties
The versatility of Gordon and Gardner-Johnson to play in coverage, blitz, and be strong/willing tacklers gives Allen a lot of flexibility to utilize them both in packages throughout the game when the Bears need to make a play. While it’s hard to say who is starting in these types of roles, I’d expect Gardner-Johnson to still get between 40-60% of snaps after Gordon gets back.
