Notes: C.J. Gardner-Johnson ranked surprisingly high in free agent list

At least one analyst is buying in on Ceedy Duce.

While many of his peers aren’t so high on C.J. Gardner-Johnson, one NFL analyst is still all-in on the Detroit Lions safety, despite a bumpy season.

Just a few weeks out from free agency, NFL writers are dropping their lists of top players on the market. The Lions only have a few, and when it comes to CJGJ, most analysts don’t have him very high on their lists. Despite coming into 2023 with high expectations, Gardner-Johnson’s season was derailed when he tore his pec in the Lions’ Week 2 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. He would go on to return for the season finale against the Minnesota Vikings — a pretty fast return for such an injury — but many media members still aren’t too high on him.

For example, CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco clocks the safety in at No. 86. Coincidentally, Pro Football Network also ranked him at that same spot, writing, “Gardner-Johnson’s comfort at safety or the slot means he could be a fit for more than half the league. He’s still only 26 years old, so there’s no reason he can’t land another one-year, $6-8 million deal to rebuild his value.”

Dan Pizzuta over at The 33rd Team evaluated Gardner-Johnson at No. 63, explaining, “If there is a return to health, he could be a great buy-low for a team needing help in the secondary.”

Meanwhile, ProFootballTalk placed him dead last at No. 100. You get the picture — not very high across the board.

So when NFL.com’s Gregg Rosenthal ranked him at No. 19, I was quite surprised.

“I will never stop believing in Ceedy Duce as a multi-hyphenate difference-maker,” he writes. “Just like I never stopped believing in Tyrann Mathieu when he hit free agency twice in a row during the middle of his career.”

For reference, the Honey Badger is not what he once was, but in the last few years has been instrumental in helping the New Orleans Saints defense improve from second to last in forced turnovers last in 2022 to third in the league this past season, our friends at Canal Street Chronicles explain. Is this an apt comparison? Could Gardner-Johnson do something similar in 2024? Rosenthal sure thinks so.

And onto the rest of your notes.

• End of an era. Peter King pens his final Football Morning in America, reflecting on his legendary career. In one segment, he does mention an interesting factoid about Chris Spielman. Grab a tissue and enjoy.

• An interesting piece from our friends over at Turf Show Times, where they wonder if the connection between the Los Angeles Rams and the Lions will lead to some trading.

• Plenty of NFL Combine stuff. We’ve got a preview from The Detroit News’ Justin Rogers focusing on offensive prospects for the Lions. This is the first of a two-part series, next up will naturally be — you guessed it, defensive prospects. So keep your eyes out for that. ($)

• In the latest episode of Necessary Roughness, Jon Jansen and TJ Lang debate a few things, including what are the actual benefits of the combine for players and what are the Lions top three needs.

• Brad Holmes and Lomas Brown participated in a Black History Month panel. A recommendation: around the 4 minute mark, Holmes tells a story I really liked about how in his past as an intern, he wasn’t looking at the next step, he was focused on being the best at the role he was already in. I think it’s fine to have an idea of where you want to go, but still important to try hard at what you’re doing now instead of skipping ahead. Am I using Notes as a diary right now? Maybe. Anyway check it out:

• Apparently there will be a comic con-like event for sports in June called the Detroit Sports Spectacular and Barry Sanders has been announced as a guest.