When C.J. Gardner-Johnson was a rookie safety with the Saints in 2019, Aaron Glenn was the team's defensive backs coach. It was during that season, as Gardner-Johnson recalls, that Glenn told him, "By the time I get you again, where I’m gonna be at, you’re gonna be exactly where I need you to be." Where they are now is in Detroit, reunited after the Lions lured the NFL's leader in picks last season from the Eagles with a one-year, $8 million deal. Reunited again.
They first teamed up when Glenn coached Gardner-Johnson in a Nike All-American seven-on-seven showcase Gardner-Johnson's senior year of high school, "and it just kept going ever since," the newest Lion said Monday upon his introduction in Detroit.
There are several reasons why Gardner-Johnson is here, the latest swing in what looks like a home run of a free agency class for Brad Holmes and the Lions. Glenn is No. 1. They've always been drawn to each other, a former star defensive back and another on the rise. Their bond, said Gardner-Johnson, is "like a father-son relationship." Glenn, 50, has a young son of his own.
"Even when I wasn’t playing for him, when I messed up I’d text him and be like, 'Did you see it, did you not see it?' because it’s like, you don’t want to let someone down who’s actually there to help you," said Gardner-Johnson, 25.
Glenn always saw special traits in Gardner-Johnson, which is certainly one reason the Saints drafted him in the first place. Gardner-Johnson saw the same in Glenn from the moment they linked up in New Orleans, where Glenn was grooming stars in the secondary like Marshon Lattimore, Marcus Williams and Von Bell. He said he "always knew (Glenn) was going to get a defensive coordinator job, I just didn’t know when." He would get it in Detroit, under Dan Campbell.
"How he was coaching, I understood what it meant and how it stuck to me," said Gardner-Johnson. "You don’t shy away from guys who really try to help you get better, as a person, on and off the field. I think that’s what made me gravitate back to where I started from, and that goes all the way back to high school when I first met him."
The Lions brought Gardner-Johnson here to be one of the pillars of a rebuilt secondary. He's more than ready for the challenge. In four NFL seasons, he's been a key cog on three division winners, three top-10 defenses and two top-five pass defenses, including the best pass defense in the NFL last season on a team that reached the Super Bowl. He's still young, but boasts wisdom beyond his years. Gardner-Johnson has been around greats, from Lattimore and (briefly) Tryann Mathieu in New Orleans to Malcolm Jenkins and ex-Lion Darius Slay in Philly. He said all of them helped him "understand how to be a leader."
"The standard that you set as a DB is something you gotta carry with yourself, and it’s gotta be the same every day. It can’t change," Gardner-Johnson said. "I think the model for the group on the backend is, the game is won and lost through us, no matter what."
Indeed, the Lions' secondary cost them tons of games in the first half of last season. It improved under Glenn as the year went on, but Detroit still allowed the third most passing yards, second most yards per pass and most yards per completion in the NFL. With a better defense next season, the Lions already have the offense to be one of the best teams in the NFC. Hence the upgrades in the backend, with Gardner-Johnson following veteran corners Cam Sutton and Emmanuel Moseley to Detroit.
"This team has talent," said Gardner-Johnson. "We can win a division, possibly win a division. Everybody should feel that way, but when I look at a team coming from where I came from or the teams I’ve played on that won multiple divisions, been in playoff games, been to the Super Bowl, this team has what it takes to get there, win the division and get to the playoffs. But it’s gotta start with, what’s your identity? Who are you?"
For the Lions, this process is well underway. They've proven through two seasons under Campbell that they can stand up to the NFL's best. Now they can start measuring up, with the skill to match their will. They kicked off last season by nearly beating Gardner-Johnson and the Super Bowl-bound Eagles, manhandled three playoff teams down the stretch and wound up one of only six teams in the NFC with at least seven conference wins and one of only two with at least five division wins. (Even the Eagles only had four.)
Entering his fifth NFL season, Gardner-Johnson said he "wanted to play with a young group of guys that’s hungry and showed a lot of grit and fight last year."
"They have an identity already established," he said. "It took a couple years to get it going ... but you can see it when you watch it on tape, watch it on TV, watch it on film. This place is somewhere I can call another home, almost. I can say I’m familiar with everybody, I’m comfortable and I’m ready to get going."
Where exactly Gardner-Johnson plays in Detroit's defense remains to be seen. He's proven he can play almost anywhere in the secondary, from free safety to nickel. With the Lions' sudden depth of playmakers at safety -- assuming Tracy Walker returns to form alongside Kerby Joseph a year after tearing his Achilles -- Glenn may well move his longtime pupil all over the field. That'd be just fine with Gardner-Johnson, who borrowed Jalen Ramsey's words when asked how he views himself as a defensive player and said, "Him."
"I’m playing," he smiled. "I just feel like when you get the chance to do multiple things and you’re not limited to one, you can really express your football personality, more than (just) talk about what you can do. When I got the chance to go play nickel, I’m gonna dominate nickel. Got the chance to go play safety, gonna dominate safety. No matter where you put me, it’s gonna go down, all game."
The Lions are on their way up. Gardner-Johnson, who's only played on winning teams in the NFL, wouldn't be here otherwise. He comes to Detroit with a decorated resume for a four-year player and the chance to really assert himself -- Himself -- next season. He's no longer a supporting actor in a cast of stars. After picking off six passes in just 12 games last season and then returning from a lacerated kidney to help the Eagles reach the Super Bowl, Gardner-Johnson is a headliner.
"For me, same way I was in New Orleans to be successful, same way I was in Philly is the same way I gotta be here," he said. "Just take it to another level."
Early in their journey together, Glenn told Gardner-Johnson something that fuels him to this day: "To become a better player over time, you gotta invest in your craft." Gardner-Johnson considers it "the best advice" he's received from Glenn, while clarifying, "I can’t say I’ve benefited from it just yet." That is, he's still investing, with an eye on greater rewards. As he arrives in Detroit, Gardner-Johnson is exactly where Glenn needs him to be.
Where they're going could be somewhere special.
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