CHICAGO – The Bears secondary was not very good in 2021. The unit allowed the league's highest quarterback rating (103.3), the fourth-most passing touchdowns (31), and the seventh-highest ANY/A (6.7). All of those numbers came while recording the third-fewest interceptions (8) in the NFL.

Those numbers are a major reason why Matt Eberflus and Ryan Poles decided to take not one, but two defensive backs with their first two picks in the 2022 NFL Draft. Now, the Bears have two foundational pieces in Kyler Gordon and Jaquan Brisker who can hopefully help the secondary turn into what Eberflus envisions.

But, it's not just up to Gordon and Brisker to change things. The Bears still have a couple of players who will be integral to the movement, as well.

One of those players is third-year player, Jaylon Johnson. Johnson is the team's No. 1 corner and one of the more promising players on the defense. He has 28 starts over the first two seasons of his career and figures to play a prominent role under Eberflus.

Johnson is well aware of the secondary's 2021 struggles and he knows that things have to change moving forward.

"I feel like I was struggling, too," Johnson told reporters Tuesday. "I think we're all in it together. We just gotta be on one page. I feel like a lot of things were more mental than physical…. I feel like we felt like we could've done a lot better throughout the season when we left the building last year."

Finding improvement won't be easy for Johnson and the secondary. The entire defensive unit is learning a whole new system and Alan Williams represents Johnson's third defensive coordinator in as many years. Granted, Sean Desai was under Chuck Pagano for a couple of years, but Desai made a lot of changes to the Bears defense in 2021. Including having Johnson shadow top receivers at times.

And per Johnson, while he relished life as a shadow corner, he also took note of the disadvantages that came with his role under Desai.

"I feel like my role last year -following No. 1 wide receivers- I thought there weren't too many risks you can take," Johnson told reporters when asked if the new Bears defense will allow him to take more risks in 2022. "I feel like, depending on what my role is moving forward, depending on the flow of the game, and what I'm being called to do, I feel like [there are] different techniques and different risks you can take. But, I definitely don't think that there were too many more risks I could take last year, always having that prime matchup."

There's a lot of credibility in that statement. Shadowing top wideouts in man coverage puts a ton of pressure on Johnson to not just deny the big play, but to routinely stay on top of some of the best receivers in the game. The slightest mistake can turn into the biggest of plays in a heartbeat, so it make sense for Johnson to be less of a risk-taker. Especially when considering 2021 was his first year as a shadow.

Per Pro Football Focus, Johnson was in man coverage 32.7% of the time in 2021. That was 17th-most among cornerbacks with at least 520 coverage snaps. It was also the highest rate on the team. He wasn't the most effective man corner: Johnson allowed the seventh-most touchdowns (3) and the sixth-highest quarterback rating (125.8) in man coverage last year. He also finished 2021 with zero interceptions in man coverage.

But, with Eberflus comes a new scheme. A zone-heavy scheme that allows defensive backs to sit back and read the quarterbacks and receivers. Keeping eyes on those players allows defensive backs to read what they're doing and then pounce when needed.

Eberflus' system is the reason why the Colts defense was a top-10 unit in regard to interceptions every single year Eberflus was defensive coordinator.

That's four straight seasons of picking off opposing quarterbacks at least 15 times per year.

And Johnson sees how Eberflus' defense can give him and his teammates plenty of chances to improve their numbers -and more importantly, their play- in 2022.

"It's definitely different from what we're used to running here in the past," said Johnson. "But I mean, I feel like it gives us a lot more opportunities to see the quarterback [and] make plays on the ball."

And that's what the team needs right now, more than anything: opportunities.

Fortunately, Eberflus' defense will provide exactly that in 2022 and beyond.

You can watch Johnson's full presser, below:

.@NBAxJay1 is up on the ?. @Hyundai | #DaBears https://t.co/e8xVAQCVli

— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) May 17, 2022

Featured image via Jon Durr-USA TODAY Sports