Jaylon Johnson has had a strong season without the massive stats to show for it. The Bears cornerback has two interceptions and seven passes defensed over 16 games thus far this season, which is why Johnson said he wouldn’t be shocked if left off the NFC’s Pro Bowl roster.

“I’m always hopeful,” Johnson said on Wednesday, “but I wouldn’t be surprised if it don’t work out.”

It did.

While he wasn’t highly ranked in fan voting, Johnson received enough votes from players and coaches to make the Pro Bowl for the second straight season.

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His honor was announced on Thursday morning, when Pro Bowl rosters were announced. He will represent the Bears at the Pro Bowl Games, a series of skills competitions and a flag football game set to be played on Feb. 2 in Orlando.

Carolina’s Jaycee Horn, Seattle’s Devon Witherspoon and Minnesota’s Byron Murphy were also selected as NFC all-stars at the cornerback spot. Johnson is the first Bears player to receive consecutive Pro Bowl honors since 2020.

“It’s hard to make plays on the ball when you barely get targeted,” Johnson said on Wednesday. “Just with that itself, that’s what gets you the Pro Bowl votes: making plays, having those interceptions and numbers and things like that. But I feel like overall I played solid. Definitely could’ve done some things better, but I did a lot of good, too.”

Per the Bears, Johnson has been the least targeted cornerback in the league, among those who have started at least 13 games. That doesn’t lead to the eye-popping interception totals that normally earn Pro Bowl spots.

Johnson has been excellent this season, a fact that’s plain if you look just below the surface. He was targeted 52 times and allowed just 392 yards on 29 receptions, per NFL NextGen Stats. He has 48 tackles and 20 stops in run defense. Per Pro Football focus, he ranks equal second in the NFL with 10.8 coverage snaps per target and third with 17.6 coverage snaps per reception

The fifth-year veteran has stated 69 games since being selected in the second round of the 2020 NFL draft, with seven interceptions and 48 passes defensed. He’ll be with the Bears for a while, after signing a massive contract extension that will keep him in Chicago through the 2027 season.