One of the more notable moves the Houston Texans made earlier this offseason was acquiring safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson via trade with the Philadelphia Eagles. The Texans traded left guard Kenyon Green to add Gardner-Johnson to their secondary in a deal that also involved draft capital.
After surveying NFL executives, coaches and scouts, ESPN recently detailed the top 10 safeties for the 2025 season. While Gardner-Johnson didn’t make the cut, he got an honorable mention.
One anonymous NFC scout noted a quirk about the 27-year-old, which is that he apparently has “no filter” and says “what’s on his mind at all times.”
“Takes chances, very instinctive,” the scout said of Gardner-Johnson. “Not the biggest dude or the fastest but has a knack for the ball. … The personality can rub guys the wrong way. He has no filter. Will say what’s on his mind at all times. But he loves the game and is very smart.”
Gardner-Johnson’s personality didn’t prevent him from putting himself in the conversation for the Comeback Player of the Year award with the Eagles last season. He tied a career-high with six interceptions across 16 starts with the eventual Super Bowl champions and finished with the 11th-most voting points for the Comeback Player of the Year hardware.
He was in contention for the award after a torn pectoral muscle held him to just three games played with the Detroit Lions in the 2023 season.
Gardner-Johnson helps Houston’s situation at the safety position, and he and rising sophomore Calen Bullock could prove to be a highly disruptive duo on the Texans. Bullock was one of the best defensive rookies in the NFL last season, as he totaled five interceptions and received the eighth-most voting points for the Defensive Rookie of the Year award.
The acquisition of Gardner-Johnson could help the Texans take that next step into Super Bowl contention in the near future. Houston has put together consecutive 10-win seasons at this point with one of the better young quarterbacks in football — C.J. Stroud — leading the offense.
There isn’t any concrete evidence that Gardner-Johnson’s apparent penchant for speaking his mind has negatively impacted his ability to play at a high level, so Texans fans shouldn’t be overly concerned about his filter or lack thereof. Here’s to hoping that Gardner-Johnson will soon endear himself to Texans fans with his play on the field.
