Potential first-round pick disappoints with Pro Day testing, leaving a glaring concern in his evaluation for scouts
Michigan Wolverines cornerback Will Johnson has been a consensus first-round pick for well over a year now, with him entering the season as a consensus top-five or top-ten player. However, as the draft draws nearer, Johnson continues to face questions in his evaluation, particularly regarding his athleticism. Johnson didn't work out at the NFL Combine […]
Michigan Wolverines cornerback Will Johnson has been a consensus first-round pick for well over a year now, with him entering the season as a consensus top-five or top-ten player.
However, as the draft draws nearer, Johnson continues to face questions in his evaluation, particularly regarding his athleticism. Johnson didn't work out at the NFL Combine as he was still recovering from a hamstring injury that knocked him out for most of Michigan's season.
On Monday, he held a private Pro Day for scouts to show what he could do while mostly recovered from injury. However, his testing numbers at his private Pro Day were less than stellar, reopening the conversation about his athleticism and leaving it as a question mark for scouts.
No 40-yard dash is tough, as it's nice to know if a player is fast enough to hang vertically down the field against NFL competition and have that data point to back it up.
His vertical at 37" isn't horrible, measuring in at 67th percentile per Mockdraftable. However, the 4.33 short shuttle is a 13th-percentile outcome as well, which is a disappointing number for a player as fluid as Johnson is. It's not a killer for his stock, however, as several first-round picks have been drafted with an equal or slower time (Joe Haden, Artie Burns, Trae Waynes, Eric Stokes, Tyson Campbell).
Personally, I think a lot of scouts and analysts are overthinking the athleticism concerns with Will Johnson. He's a freak athlete on film, and we've seen him carry deep threats down the field and stay right in their hip pocket. It feels like we're bored of a player who has consistently been at the top of consensus for so long, and the injury has opened up the talking points.
One underrated aspect of his evaluation was losing arguably the best strength and conditioning coach in college football in Ben Herbert, who followed Jim Harbaugh to the Los Angeles Chargers. Is it a coincidence that multiple Michigan players skipped out on testing after Herbert's departure?
Once he gets into an NFL strength and conditioning room, I expect Johnson will be just fine as long as he stays healthy. He is still quite worthy of a first-round selection. However, this will still play a factor in his evaluation, and I imagine his stock will vary team to team. It could be enough to keep him out of the top-15 picks. We'll find out on draft night.
