Bears CB Jaylon Johnson Drops 5-Word Response to Top 100 Snub

Getty Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson.

Suffice it to say, Chicago Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson is not happy about his peers snubbing him from the NFL’s list of Top 100 Players of 2024.

Johnson spoke with reporters after August 4’s training camp practice in Lake Forest and didn’t hold back when asked his opinion on not cracking the top 100 list in 2024.

“It’s b******,” Johnson responded, “Point blank period.”

Johnson is coming off the finest season of his four-year NFL career in 2023, tying for the team’s most interceptions (four) and finishing as both Pro Football Focus’ highest-graded coverage cornerback (91.0) and highest-graded overall cornerback (90.8). The 25-year-old also received the first Pro Bowl and All-Pro recognition of his career.

The Bears had no problem identifying Johnson’s growing prestige and locked him down as one of their defensive foundations during the 2024 offseason, signing him to a four-year, $76 million contract extension in March that ties him to Chicago through 2017.

“There’s no way there’s 100 guys [better than me],” Johnson continued. “It’s b******, there ain’t no way. I don’t know how you make Pro Bowl, All-Pro and you’re not a top 100 guy. I could have been 101, I guess, but Aaron Rodgers didn’t even play in the season and he was voted.

“Hey, everybody makes mistakes. It ain’t just the media that do it. The players, clearly if they voted for it, they made some f****** mistakes, but it is what it is. At the end of the day, I know the truth. And it’s OK, I’ve got some more for them.”

Jaylon Johnson Calls NFL Top 100 Snub ‘Disrespectful’

Johnson’s absence on the NFL Top 100 list feels like a genuine snub, especially when looking at which other cornerbacks made the list. Seattle’s Tariq Woolen (No. 91) and Denver’s Pat Surtain II (No. 52) are names that raise eyebrows in comparison, not because they aren’t good players — they are — but because Johnson outplayed them.

Even the highest-rated cornerback on the list — Miami’s Jalen Ramsey — did not play up to the caliber of Johnson’s breakout 2023 season. Ramsey played just 10 games and finished with fewer interceptions (three) and pass breakups (one) and played worse in pass coverage, allowing 20 catches on 36 targets and more yards (260) than Johnson.

Johnson did not appear to know this, but he also didn’t make the list of 10 players who just missed the cut for the NFL Top 100 list. So not only did his league peers not view him as one of the top 100 players in the NFL but they also put him outside the top 110.

“One hundred percent, it’s disrespectful,” Johnson said. “Because I know [when] I go out there and line up, I know receivers go out there and can’t say I’m not the best player they played against. Whatever it is, it happened. Doing it wouldn’t have just moved me to where I feel like I’m complacent. But just to see it, ain’t no way 100 guys better, ain’t no way. And especially guys who didn’t play, who were hurt, ain’t no f****** way.”

DJ Moore Also Snubbed From NFL Top 100 for Bears

This year’s NFL Top 100 list got plenty of things wrong in the eyes of media and players. Some directed their frustrations at the annual voting process, which asks the players to rank only their top 20 players with a weighted point scale determining where each player falls. There is also the matter of prestige factoring into those top-20 votes, something that explains why Rodgers — who played four snaps in 2023 — made the cut.

For Bears fans, though, the list had two egregious omissions between Johnson and star wide receiver DJ Moore — who had an outstanding first season in Chicago in 2023.

The Bears acquired Moore in their blockbuster trade with the Carolina Panthers for the No. 1 overall pick in 2023 with designs on making him their new No. 1 receiver. That decision paid off immensely for Chicago as Moore started in all 17 games and logged career-highs in receptions (96), receiving yards (1,364) and touchdowns (eight).

Moore, however, did not make the cut as a top-100 player nor did he get recognition as one of the first 10 outside of the list. Instead, receivers with worse production — such as Terry McLaurin (No. 97), DK Metcalf (No. 84) and Cooper Kupp (No. 69) — beat him out in the eyes of his peers.

The Bears only had two players picked as top-100 players for 2024: defensive end Montez Sweat (No. 82) and wide receiver Keenan Allen (No. 51).