Dalton Johnson has an advantage he’s bringing from Arizona that should allow him to learn Rob Leonard’s scheme very quickly
The Las Vegas Raiders drafted four secondary players in the 2026 NFL Draft, and Dalton Johnson could end up being a huge steal.
The Las Vegas Raiders made the secondary a focal point in the 2026 NFL Draft. That was easily one of their biggest flaws heading into the draft. Now, it feels like we may be able to say the secondary will be a bright spot of this roster.
This safety room has a ton of potential, with Treydan Stukes likely a starter and Dalton Johnson, a player who can develop into a starter. The two of them played together at Arizona, where they learned several different defensive schemes, and that should only help them as they start their NFL careers. Johnson knows he can use that as an advantage.
“Yeah, I would say it was huge because through the whole draft process, just all the zones and the scheme installs, it made it fairly easy because it was just defenses that I’ve run and seen,” Johnson told reporters. “From knowing whether it was different lingo, but it all was the same in its own aspect.”
“And the growing part, which is more opportunities to play different positions, just boundary, whether I was in the post or roll down safety, or even going a little bit of nickel. It was a crazy story, and just in the moment seemed like hectic, but I don’t want my story to be any other way, and I’m just so thankful for the opportunity and the coaches that have come through Arizona and just taught me and grown my football knowledge.”
Johnson has the IQ and physicals to be a starter
Johnson is just under 6’0, is 190 pounds, and has 31″ arms. He’s got decent length to help contest passes in the backend of the secondary. He’s pretty fast, too, as he ran a 4.41 40-yard dash. He also had a 1.59 10-yard split, 36″ vertical jump, and a 9’11” broad jump.
In this draft class, the Raiders made sure to draft versatile, very athletic, and very fast players. This is, as we say, “the Al-Davis way”; Johnson has all the tools needed to be successful. Now, it’s just about putting all of the pieces together.
