PFF: C.J. Gardner-Johnson led the NFL's defensive backs in Week 1 stops

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C.J. Gardner-Johnson had a strong rookie year for the New Orleans Saints, but he’s elevated his game to open his second season in the NFL. Gardner-Johnson (whose new moniker of “Ceedy Duce” has not been reflected on the Saints roster, or his jersey) all but flew out of the gate in Week 1 to earn serious recognition from the analysts at Pro Football Focus.

PFF maintains a signature stat for defensive stops that is defined as “tackles that constitute a loss for the offense.” These aren’t just tackles for a loss of yards; context matters for each down played:

On a first down, if the offense gets 45% of the way to a first down or less
On a second down, if the offense gets 60% of the way to a first down or less
On a third or fourth down, if the offense doesn’t get a first down
And Gardner-Johnson outplayed the rest of the NFL in this category after Week 1’s slate of games. PFF credited him with more defensive stops than any other safety or cornerback, and the third-most of all players.

Gardner-Johnson was a huge part of the Saints’ success in bottling up the Buccaneers run game. Tampa Bay was determined to run on first downs against lighter Saints defensive packages (where they predominately fielded five or six defensive backs rather than extra linebackers), but Gardner-Johnson was impressive. His first four tackles each came on first-and-10 run plays, limiting the Buccaneers to gains of just 4, 2, 1, and 2 yards. He had two other tackles on first-down run plays that stopped Tampa Bay short of 2-yard gains.

That sort of effectiveness in making tackles in space — on downs where the offense has an advantage on paper, putting bigger blockers against lighter defenders — has a ripple effect on the rest of the defense. More short stops on first down puts the offense into longer spots to convert on subsequent downs, shifting leverage back New Orleans’ way. It’ll take more quality reps like these from Gardner-Johnson to keep the Saints in the win column.