C. J. Gardner-Johnson
Ceedy Duce[1] (born December 20, 1997 as Chauncey Gardner Jr., known in 2017–2020 as Chauncey or C.J. Gardner-Johnson) is an American football safety for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Florida.
![]() Duce in 2019 | |||||||||||||||
No. 22 – New Orleans Saints | |||||||||||||||
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Position: | Safety | ||||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||||
Born: | Cocoa, Florida | December 20, 1997||||||||||||||
Height: | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||||||||||||||
Weight: | 210 lb (95 kg) | ||||||||||||||
Career information | |||||||||||||||
High school: | Cocoa (FL) | ||||||||||||||
College: | Florida | ||||||||||||||
NFL Draft: | 2019 / Round: 4 / Pick: 105 | ||||||||||||||
Career history | |||||||||||||||
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Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
Career NFL statistics as of 2019 | |||||||||||||||
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College career
As a true freshman at Florida, Gardner-Johnson appeared in all 13 games, making starts in the final 3 games of the season. During the 2017 Outback Bowl, Gardner-Johnson had 2 tackles and 2 interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown, he was named the MVP of the Outback bowl. During his sophomore season, Gardner-Johnson started in all 11 games. Before his junior season, Chauncey-Gardner was moved to the nickelback position.[2] On November 26, 2018, Gardner-Johnson announced that he would forgo his final year of eligibility and declare for the 2019 NFL Draft.[3]
Professional career
Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand size | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
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5 ft 10 7⁄8 in (1.80 m) |
210 lb (95 kg) |
30 7⁄8 in (0.78 m) |
9 1⁄4 in (0.23 m) |
4.48 s | 4.20 s | 7.03 s | 36.0 in (0.91 m) |
9 ft 9 in (2.97 m) |
17 reps | |||
All values from NFL Combine[4] |
Gardner-Johnson was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the fourth round (105th overall) of the 2019 NFL Draft.[5] In a Week 13 game against the Atlanta Falcons on Thanksgiving Day, Gardner-Johnson recorded his first career interception off a pass thrown by Matt Ryan in the 26–18 win.[6] In week 16 against the Tennessee Titans, Gardner-Johnson recorded 8 tackles and forced a fumble on wide receiver Kalif Raymond which he recovered during the 38–28 win.[7]
Personal life
Gardner-Johnson was known as Chauncey Gardner Jr. in his first two seasons with Florida.[8] For his junior year, he changed the name on his jersey to Gardner-Johnson in honor of his stepfather, Brian Johnson. Gardner-Johnson's biological father, Chauncey Gardner Sr., has been a part of his life, but Johnson had raised Gardner-Johnson from the time he was a toddler.[9]
In August 2020, Gardner-Johnson announced that he was changing his name to Ceedy Duce.[10]
References
- "C.J. Gardner-Johnson says he's changing his name". Saints Wire. August 9, 2020. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
- Young, Ryan (April 11, 2018). "New position, same swagger for Florida's Chauncey Gardner-Johnson". SEC Country. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
- Baker, Matt (November 26, 2018). "Florida Gators' Chauncey Gardner-Johnson declares for NFL draft". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved January 12, 2019.
- "Chauncey Gardner-Johnson Combine Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
- "Saints trade up in Round 4 to acquire Chauncey Gardner-Johnson". New Orleans Saints. April 27, 2019.
- "Saints beat Falcons to clinch third straight NFC South title". www.espn.com. November 28, 2019. Retrieved November 28, 2019.
- "Saints chasing NFC's top seed rally to beat Titans 38-28". www.espn.com. Associated Press. December 22, 2019. Retrieved December 22, 2019.
- "Gardner MVP as Florida wins Outback Bowl". floridatoday.com. January 2, 2017. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
Former Cocoa High star Chauncey Gardner Jr., returned one of his two fourth-quarter interceptions 58 yards for a touchdown
- Abolverdi, Zach (March 13, 2018). "New name, same position for Florida DB Chauncey Gardner-Johnson". seccountry.com. Archived from the original on March 14, 2018. Retrieved May 3, 2018 – via Wayback Machine.
- "Ceedy Duce: "Time to pave a way for my own image" - Chauncey Gardner-Johnson". SI.com. Retrieved August 11, 2020.