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.
Career Value · VORP
149 career value over replacement — #661 all-time of 4,695. 24.8/season above a replacement-level S.
Career Profile
Pick #105 (Rd 4) · NO · 2019 · +42.3 vs expected KV-H
Fan Rating
Rate C.J. Gardner-Johnson — All-Time
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Season totals or exact team stints. Career totals count each season once.
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Defense | Snap Counts | Advanced Defense & Coverage (2018+) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | — | |
7 seasons · peak 9.3 in 2024
VAL (Value Above League) measures each NFL season against that season's league; the dashed line is zero — a season that added nothing above the league's fringe. ● peak · ○ league-best season.
2.4 career wins over 7 seasons · 1 win = 13.08 VAL
Best season · 2024 · +0.7 wins
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Tkl | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits | Sk | Dis | Int | PD | FF | FR | TD | Sfty | VAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 21–22 | NO | 15 | — | 46 | 35 | 11 | 6 | 4 | 0.0 | 10.0 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.9 |
| 2020 | 22–23 | NO | 15 | — | 65 | 51 | 14 | 5 | 4 | 1.0 | 10.0 | 1 | 13 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 2.8 |
| 2021 | 23–24 | NO | 12 | — | 45 | 31 | 14 | 4 | 4 | 2.0 | 10.0 | 3 | 7 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 5.8 |
| 2022 | 24–25 | PHI | 12 | — | 61 | 55 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 1.0 | 8.0 | 6 | 8 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 8.3 |
| 2023 | 25–26 | DET | 3 | — | 16 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2024 | 26–27 | PHI | 16 | — | 55 | 31 | 24 | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 6 | 12 | 1 | — | 1 | 0 | 9.3 |
| 2025 | 27–28 | All teams | 13 | — | 65 | 45 | 20 | 5 | 6 | 3.0 | 14.0 | 2 | 4 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | 4.2 |
| 2026 | 28–29 | BUF | 5 | — | 25 | 16 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0.5 |
| Career | 91 | 378 | 279 | 99 | 27 | 20 | 7.0 | 54.0 | 21 | 57 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 31.8 |
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Off | Off% | Def | Def% | ST | ST% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 21–22 | NO | 16 | — | — | 0.0% | 546 | 52.9% | 205 | 44.4% |
| 2020 | 22–23 | NO | 15 | — | — | 0.0% | 861 | 88.1% | 147 | 34.6% |
| 2021 | 23–24 | NO | 12 | — | — | 0.0% | 626 | 81.0% | 76 | 23.8% |
| 2022 | 24–25 | PHI | 12 | — | — | 0.0% | 729 | 91.1% | 1 | 0.3% |
| 2023 | 25–26 | DET | 3 | — | — | 0.0% | 187 | 89.3% | 1 | 1.3% |
| 2024 | 26–27 | PHI | 16 | — | — | 0.0% | 908 | 91.9% | 1 | 0.3% |
| 2025 | 27–28 | All teams | 13 | — | — | — | 767 | — | 10 | — |
| 2026 | 28–29 | BUF | 5 | — | — | 0.0% | 366 | 98.8% | — | 0.0% |
| Career | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Career games and per-game totals are unavailable because the season rows do not establish complete career coverage. Published career totals are preserved.
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Tgt | Cmp | Cmp% | RateAll | ADOT | Prss | Hrry | QBKD | Bltz | MissTkl | Miss% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 21–22 | NO | 16 | — | 51 | 36 | 0.7 | 93.6 | 6.4 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 30 | 4 | 0.1 |
| 2020 | 22–23 | NO | 15 | — | 94 | 54 | 0.6 | 72.2 | 7.0 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 31 | 11 | 0.1 |
| 2021 | 23–24 | NO | 12 | — | 61 | 39 | 0.6 | 67.7 | 8.4 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 22 | 9 | 0.2 |
| 2022 | 24–25 | PHI | 12 | — | 52 | 38 | 0.7 | 78.4 | 11.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 0.1 |
| 2023 | 25–26 | DET | 3 | — | 8 | 5 | 0.6 | 56.8 | 15.0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0.1 |
| 2024 | 26–27 | PHI | 16 | — | 37 | 23 | 0.6 | 89.0 | 8.4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 0.1 |
| 2025 | 27–28 | All teams* | 13 | — | 66 | 44 | 0.7 | 89.8 | 7.2 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 35 | 10 | 0.1 |
| Career | 87 | 369 | 239 | — | — | — | 31 | 10 | 14 | 134 | 53 | — |
All teams* — this source provides a season total only; team splits are unavailable in this table.
Source: nflverse (CC-BY 4.0) · 2016–2026 · 5 games
Folded from the per-game logs on file. Home/away, result, month and division come from the NFL schedule feed; where a game has no schedule row those dimensions leave it out rather than guess, and the count is shown.
| Home / Away | G |
|---|---|
| Home | 10 |
| Away | 9 |
| Wins / Losses | G |
|---|---|
| Wins | 11 |
| Losses | 8 |
A great career by KV-H: a peak-driven profile that scores 78 of 100, era-normalized against int/g peers across 6 scored seasons.
Blend 78.2 × longevity 1 = KV-H 78· confidence 100%
Troy Polamalu
S
89% match
2019 Draft ClassmatesFull class →
Latest season · 2026 · +0.0 wins
VAL 3.0 measures each part of a NFL player's game in his sport's own currency against what that season's fringe players produced, converted to team wins with rates fitted from every team-season in the encyclopedia.
#29 of 1,089 all-time defensive backs by KV-H
| Regular season / Postseason |
|---|
| G |
|---|
| Regular season | 18 |
| Postseason | 1 |
| By opponent | G |
|---|---|
| vs CIN | 1 |
| vs CLE | 1 |
| vs DET | 2 |
| vs GB | 2 |
| vs HOU | 1 |
| vs JAX | 1 |
| vs LA | 3 |
| vs LAC | 1 |
| vs MIN | 1 |
| vs NE | 1 |
| vs NYG | 1 |
| vs PHI | 1 |
| vs PIT | 1 |
| vs SF | 1 |
| vs TB | 1 |
| By month | G |
|---|---|
| January | 2 |
| September | 6 |
| October | 2 |
| November | 5 |
| December | 4 |
| Division games | G |
|---|---|
| Division | 6 |
| Non-division | 13 |
Season-by-season quality (era-relative int/g)
1 pre-1999 season omitted — no era norm (honest coverage gap, not fabricated).