C.J. Gardner-Johnson ranks in the all-time elite tier for defensive backs — a career that places Gardner-Johnson in the top 3% of all players at the position. The Knox value model assigns Gardner-Johnson a career score of 78, reflecting sustained impact that most players at the position never approach.

On the boards· Appears on 3 boards

SAFBUF#22ACT

C.J. Gardner-Johnson

Top 3% all-time defensive backsAll-Time Great👑 #1 Defensive Back · 2022 📈 Late Developer · 2024

Height5'11"

Weight208 lb

Career Value · VORP

149 career value over replacement — #661 all-time of 4,695. 24.8/season above a replacement-level S.

Career Profile

Led league 1×2 top-10

Draft OutcomeSteal ↑

Pick #105 (Rd 4) · NO · 2019 · +42.3 vs expected KV-H

78actual

35.7 expected · Δ+42.3

💔+61.5 stolen VORP·2.48 szns lost

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Combined Season Grid

Season totals or exact team stints. Career totals count each season once.

3 categories · One row per season · Scroll for all statistics

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Defense													Snap Counts						Advanced Defense & Coverage (2018+)
Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Tkl	Solo	Ast	TFL	QBHits	Sk	Dis	Int	PD	FF	FR	TD	Sfty	Off	Off%	Def	Def%	ST	ST%	Tgt	Cmp	Cmp%	RateAll	ADOT	Prss	Hrry	QBKD	Bltz	MissTkl	Miss%
2019	21–22	NO	16	—	46	35	11	6	4	0.0	10.0	1	8	1	1	0	0	—	0.0%	546	52.9%	205	44.4%	51	36	0.7	93.6	6.4	7	3	4	30	4	0.1
2020	22–23	NO	15	—	65	51	14	5	4	1.0	10.0	1	13	0	—	0	0	—	0.0%	861	88.1%	147	34.6%	94	54	0.6	72.2	7.0	6	2	3	31	11	0.1
2021	23–24	NO	12	—	45	31	14	4	4	2.0	10.0	3	7	0	—	0	0	—	0.0%	626	81.0%	76	23.8%	61	39	0.6	67.7	8.4	5	1	2	22	9	0.2
2022	24–25	PHI	12	—	61	55	6	5	2	1.0	8.0	6	8	0	—	0	0	—	0.0%	729	91.1%	1	0.3%	52	38	0.7	78.4	11.0	3	1	1	10	11	0.1
2023	25–26	DET	3	—	16	15	1	0	0	0.0	0.0	1	3	0	—	0	0	—	0.0%	187	89.3%	1	1.3%	8	5	0.6	56.8	15.0	2	2	0	5	2	0.1
2024	26–27	PHI	16	—	55	31	24	2	0	0.0	2.0	6	12	1	—	1	0	—	0.0%	908	91.9%	1	0.3%	37	23	0.6	89.0	8.4	2	1	1	1	6	0.1
2025	27–28	CHI / HOU	13	—	65	45	20	5	6	3.0	14.0	2	4	1	—	0	0	—	—	767	—	10	—	66	44	0.7	89.8	7.2	6	0	3	35	10	0.1
2026	28–29	BUF	5	—	25	16	9	0	0	0.0	0.0	1	2	0	—	0	0	—	0.0%	366	98.8%	—	0.0%	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Career		—	92	—	378	279	99	27	20	7.0	54.0	21	57	3	1	1	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	369	239	—	—	—	31	10	14	134	53	—

All-Time Rank & Honors

career ranks, postseason ranks, awards, title context

Season honors and record seasons

Led NFL2022·Int6

Archetype Intelligence

All-Time GreatExplore archetypes →

A top 5% all-time defensive back — a career that puts them among the greatest at their position in NFL history. Their excellent per-snap efficiency underscores the elite level they operated at.

Career Value · VORP

VORP 149 · #661 · High-Value

Worth 149 points of value above a freely-available replacement safety — top 15% of all 4,695 ranked at the position. 6 of 6 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +24.8 on average.See board →

Seasons above replacement

6 cleared

Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it — adds 0, never a debit

Replacement

the KC-H bar

→

Seasons over

cleared the bar

+24.8

Avg surplus

peak +48

6 seasons × ~24.8 surplus ≈ VORP 149