C.J.
Gardner-Johnson
S
#22
C.J. Gardner-Johnson
#22S
Buffalo Bills
Height : 5' 11" · Weight : 208 lbs · Age : 28
NFL record
| Year | Team | GP | TOT | SOLO | AST | SACK | FF | FR | YDS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Buffalo Bills | 3 | 14 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | 2025 Totals | 13 | 66 | 46 | 20 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | Chicago Bears | 10 | 51 | 35 | 16 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | Houston Texans | 3 | 15 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | Philadelphia Eagles | 16 | 59 | 35 | 24 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | Detroit Lions | 3 | 17 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | Philadelphia Eagles | 12 | 67 | 61 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | New Orleans Saints | 12 | 46 | 32 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | New Orleans Saints | 15 | 66 | 52 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | New Orleans Saints | 16 | 49 | 38 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 37 |
Contract
Buffalo Bills payroll →- 2026 cap number
- 2.40 M$
- Average per year
- 3.50 M$
- Total value
- 3.5 M$
- Seasons left
- 2 · through 2027
2026
2.40 M$
Guaranteed
2027
1.00 M$
Not guaranteed
Cap number: the season's salary plus the share of the signing bonus spread over the contract. Total value and average per year cover the whole contract, from its signing.
Advanced stats, 2026 Safeties
NFL stats →2026 season, in progress (3 games played). The percentile ranks the player among regular safeties: 90th means better than 90% of them.
Tackles
14
34th percentile
Interceptions
1
83th percentile
Passes defended
2
80th percentile
Targets in coverage
7
Yards allowed
65 yd
Yards allowed per target
9.3 yd
45th percentile
Passer rating allowed
36.9
95th percentile
Missed tackle rate
22.2 %
4th percentile
Tackles for loss
0
33th percentile
Defensive snaps
212
95th percentile
Regular season. Data: nflverse (play-by-play, snap counts), Next Gen Stats, Pro Football Reference. EPA: expected points added. CPOE: completion percentage over expected.
2026 end-of-season projection
NFL trends →Projected WAR
0.4
Games
17
WAR 2026
0.0
Games played
3
WAR already earned, plus his pace (WAR per game over the last three seasons, 60/25/15, pulled toward the group average) over his team's remaining games, given his availability so far.
Trend
→ Stable (-5)
- 20230.0 WAR · 0.000 per game
- 20240.2 WAR · 0.013 per game
- 20250.8 WAR · 0.062 per game
- 20260.0 WAR · 0.000 per game
The trend compares this season's WAR per game with last season's, weighted by games played.
Outlook, age included
-5 · 28 y.o. · prime years
It is only a projection. It knows nothing about injuries, trades or role changes.
Player ratings, 2026
All ratings →Ratings from 0 to 100, computed over four seasons from data, never by hand, against regulars in the same position group. 75 = established regular, 87 = 90th percentile, 95+ = elite.
OV · Overall
71
Established starter
- COV
- Coverage
- 81
- BAL
- Ball skills
- 84
- TCK
- Tackling
- 51
- DUR
- Durability
- 61
- EX
- Experience
- 75
Why these ratings?Hide details
- COV — Coverage : Yards and passer rating allowed per target
- BAL — Ball skills : Ball carrier: fumbles avoided. Defender: interceptions and passes defended
- TCK — Tackling : Tackles made and missed tackles
- DUR — Durability : Games played out of his team's, over several seasons
- EX — Experience : Seasons in the NFL
WAR and PAL Rating, 2026
How we rate →WAR: the EPA (expected points added) of every play, above replacement level, shared among those who made it, then converted to wins (35.3 points = one win). PAL Rating scores performance from 0 to 100 against regulars in the same group (50 = median).
WAR
0.0
#27 of 71 regular safeties
PAL Rating
75 / 100
#18 of 71 regular safeties
Value Rating · 2025
65 / 100
2025 PAL (60) against 2026 salary: the contract's average per year (APY), $3.5M.PAL expected for this salary: 47PAL: dimensions
Where WAR comes from (in wins)
Half the EPA of his sacks, interceptions, passes defended, forced fumbles, tackles for loss and QB hits, against his position's average per snap.
Yards allowed per target against his position's average, 0.12 points per yard (measured).
Replacement level: the share of defense the league spends on his position (by payroll), prorated by snaps.
How much better or worse than average his team's defense was (EPA allowed), minus what is already credited to players, prorated by snaps.
The individual part is splash plays and coverage. The rest is the position share and his team's defense, split by snaps played.
| Season | Team | G | WAR | PAL | OV | Tkl | INT | PD | Yds/tgt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | BUF | 3 | 0.0 | 75 | 71 | 14 | 1 | 2 | 9.3 |
| 2025 | CHI | 13 | 0.8 | 60 | 71 | 65 | 2 | 4 | 7.1 |
| 2024 | PHI | 16 | 0.2 | 95 | 73 | 55 | 6 | 12 | 8.4 |
| 2023 | DET | 3 | 0.0 | 76 | 75 | 16 | 1 | 3 | 10.1 |
| 2022 | PHI | 12 | 0.1 | 84 | 76 | 61 | 6 | 8 | 8.6 |
| 2021 | NO | 12 | 0.6 | 82 | 77 | 45 | 3 | 7 | 6.6 |
C.J. Gardner-Johnson in five questions
What are C.J. Gardner-Johnson's stats in 2026?
C.J. Gardner-Johnson has 1 interception and 2 passes defensed in 3 games in 2026.
How old and how tall is C.J. Gardner-Johnson?
C.J. Gardner-Johnson is 28 years old. He is 5'11" (180 cm) and weighs 207 lb (94 kg).
How good is C.J. Gardner-Johnson?
C.J. Gardner-Johnson produced 0.0 wins above replacement (WAR) in 2026 (season in progress), 32nd of 71 players at his position in the NFL. His PAL rating is 75 out of 100: very good for his position.
What number does C.J. Gardner-Johnson wear, and what team does he play for?
C.J. Gardner-Johnson plays for Buffalo Bills in the NFL, at S, and wears number 22.
What is C.J. Gardner-Johnson's projection for 2026?
Our projection has him at 0.4 WAR over the full 2026 season, based on his weighted recent seasons and age.
