Miami Dolphins rookie cornerback Chris Johnson has been tasked with a lot early in his young career, as he's playing both outside and slot cornerback regularly. According to Pro Football Focus, of his 240 defensive snaps through four weeks, 103 have been as a boundary cornerback while 97 have come as a nickel.
With that, Johnson is moving around and covering different players and different positions frequently, so when the Dolphins take on the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 5, the rookie will likely line up against wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase quite a bit.
On Friday, Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley was asked what he'd like to see from Johnson in those matchups.
"I want to see him rely on his fundamentals and techniques. I want to see him continue to improve,"
Hafley said. "That's a fair question; you're talking about a rookie – I'm sure that's why you're asking –against maybe the premier receiver in all of our league. I have a ton of respect for Ja’Marr after watching him live last year for the first time, really getting to coach against him. I love the way he plays. And like I said, I think he's the guy.
"What happens a lot of the time is when you start to think about that as a player, and you start to go away from your fundamentals and techniques, and you try to change who you are, you don't play very well. So you gotta know who you're up against. I'd be crazy to tell you that you can't do that, but you gotta rely on your training, and you gotta play with great eyes, great feet, great physicality. You gotta finish violent at the reception point. You gotta understand where your help is and play with the leverage to your help. And you got to be physical, and you got to be aggressive because you're going to have to match that because that's how he plays the game. I want to see him be himself, and I want to see him take a step."
Chase is widely considered one of the best (if not the best) wideouts in the game, as he's made five Pro Bowls and three All-Pro teams in his five full seasons in the NFL. In 82 games, he's caught 541 passes for 7,049 yards and 57 touchdowns, which is incredible.
Johnson will have his hands full, and while it's unlikely that he'll go through this game without mistakes, there's a lot that he can show his coach, his teammates and the fans on Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium.
This article originally appeared on Dolphins Wire: Jeff Hafley explains what Chris Johnson must do against Ja'Marr Chase
