How far will Michigan Wolverines CB Will Johnson slide on day two of 2025 NFL Draft after medical red flags lead to steep drop
Will Johnson somehow went from potential "best player in the entire 2025 NFL Draft" to completely falling out of the first round in a matter of just a few short months.Surely he can't keep falling on day two of the draft following his shocking slide in the first round, right? We'll dive into a few […]
Will Johnson somehow went from potential "best player in the entire 2025 NFL Draft" to completely falling out of the first round in a matter of just a few short months.
Surely he can't keep falling on day two of the draft following his shocking slide in the first round, right? We'll dive into a few landing spots where Johnson may go, but first let's talk about how in the world this slide happened in the first place.
Michigan Wolverines CB Will Johnson's fall out of the first round
Heading into last season Dane Brugler of the Athletic had Will Johnson as the number one prospect on his entire Top 50 Big Board, and he wasn't alone. Johnson quickly confirmed that hype was justified by running back two pick-six interceptions in the first half of last season for the Michigan Wolverines, posting what was on pace to be his third consecutive elite coverage season. Then the worst happened.
Johnson injured his foot, inevitably missing the rest of the 2024 college football season. After that, questions concerning Johnson's long speed emerged early into draft season. Then following the NFL Combine concerns about the reported medical assessment of his knee surfaced, providing even more doubts for Johnson's shot at first round capital. And finally, the actual fall down the draft board took place on Thursday as Will Johnson fell completely out of round one.
While many NFL Draft analysts were so focused on Johnson's long speed concerns potentially leading to his inevitable fall much farther than originally expected, it turns out the knee issues were a much bigger problem.
Ian Rapoport confirmed on air early in the live broadcast for NFL Network that teams weren't actually all that concerned about the speed. Instead there were "more concerns about the knee" long-term. Adam Schefter of ESPN confirmed similar reports as the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft continued to progress.
Many believed that once Johnson made it into the 20s the slide would stop (perhaps with the Chargers and his former head coach Jim Harbaugh). It didn't.
Now that Will Johnson is still officially available as we head into day two of the 2025 NFL Draft, which teams could actually take a shot on him?
When I spoke with Johnson as the NFL Combine he made it abundantly clear that both the Buffalo Bills and Dallas Cowboys seemed quite interested in him. He met with each team formally there in Indianapolis. Then he met with the Raiders, Falcons, Cardinals, and Seahawks for Top 30 visits in recent weeks too. The Bills have already selected a cornerback in round one, but the rest of those teams (and more) should all be in play in round two.
Those five teams all have second round picks: Raiders (37), Cowboys (44), Falcons (46), Cardinals (47), Seahawks (50 & 52). The absolute floor to Johnson's fall should come no later than pick 52, and there's certainly a non-zero chance a team trades up ahead of this entire bunch to take Johnson as soon as round two kicks off.
Regardless of where Johnson lands, let's just hope it happens soon. He's too talented a player to let drop much further when he's healthy.
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And if you want to look back on some of the plays that made Will Johnson one of the best cornerbacks in all of football enjoy the highlights in the video below!
