NFL scout says Will Johnson could be “special”

Could Will Johnson play on offense this fall?

Michigan Wolverines Football Junior Cornerback Will Johnson was unanimously selected as a first-team All-American ahead of the 2024 season. This follows a breakthrough 2023 season in which Johnson was named a first-team All-American by Sports illustrated and was unanimously selected to the All-Big Ten first team. He recorded 27 tackles, including 1 for a loss, and 4 interceptions despite playing at less than 100 percent health for most of the season.

Johnson, a former five-star prospect in the 2022 recruiting class, has been generating excitement in the NFL Draft since his freshman season. Before the 2024 draft, Pro Football Focus even listed him as the best cornerback prospect in the country “if everyone in college football were eligible.” But Johnson, of course, was ineligible to be selected, having only played two seasons of college football. However, he could enter the draft after this season and is expected to be selected in the first round.

ESPN draft analyst Jordan Reid wrote about the contenders for the first overall pick in 2025with five players listed as “serious contenders,” two “potential movers,” and several “underdogs.” Johnson fell into the “underdog” category and had a two percent chance of being selected No. 1.

The rarity of cornerbacks being selected in the top 10, let alone No. 1, is a big reason why Johnson is likely to be selected later than the first-round pick.

“We have never seen a cornerback selected at the top of the draft (Common Draft era, since 1967),” Reid wrote. “So yes, the odds are extremely stacked against Johnson. But if there was a CB who could aspire to that feat, he would be a strong contender. In 2022 Derek Stingley Jr. and Gardner Sauce were selected number 3 and 4 in a row. Johnson is a cornerback talent of that caliber.”

Stingley and Gardner are only the 13th and 14th cornerback candidates in the last 32 years to be selected in the top 5. In 2023 Devon Witherspoon joined them. Last spring, no cornerbacks were selected up to number 22, with Quinyon Mitchell on the way to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Johnson impressed scouts last season at Michigan and created growing excitement ahead of 2024.

“At 6’2″ and 200 pounds, Johnson has flexible hips, great ball skills and the ability to play in a variety of coverages,” Reid wrote. “Last season, he allowed just 14 catches (0 TDs) in his coverage and also recorded four interceptions (7 total in two seasons). Additionally, there are few cornerbacks more battle-tested than Johnson compared to (Ohio State’s) Marvin Harrison Jr. and (Washington’s) Rome Odunze in 2023.”

The comparison made by an NFL employee was Patrick Surtain IIthe former unanimous All-American from Alabama in 2020 and first-team All-Pro selection in 2022 for the Denver Broncos.

“I don’t know if it’s the size, the jersey number or anything else,” an NFC scouting director said, according to Reid. “The kid looks like a direct copy of Surtain coming out of Alabama. We’ll see what he runs, but he has all the tools to be special.”