Why the Slide?: Will Johnson

Why the Slide Series

This series was created a number of years ago in response to questions about why certain well-known prospects went unselected in NFL drafts. For these articles, I reach out to sources with NFL teams to find out why their organizations passed on drafting a given player and/or the reasons other teams passed on that prospect. The positive response to “Why Undrafted” and questions from readers about why prospects were drafted lower than the media’s expectations led us to create the parallel series “Why the Slide?”

Both series are back this year. Feel free to email me requests for Why the Slide? and Why Undrafted? at [email protected]. I can’t promise to get to all of them, but I will do my best and definitely will respond to the email.

The Expectations

For a lot of the lead-up to the 2025 NFL Draft, Johnson was a consensus top-20 pick, and many thought he would be the second cornerback off the board. In his sophomore season, Johnson (6-2, 205) was the Wolverines’ No. 1 cover corner in helping them to win a National Championship. He totaled 27 tackles with four interceptions and four passes defended. In 2024, Johnson recorded 14 tackles, two interceptions (both returned for touchdowns), and three passes defended. In Week 1, Johnson had a critical interception that he returned 86 yards for a touchdown. In Week 4, Johnson had a huge 42-yard pick-six to help Michigan get a three-point win over USC. A shoulder injury caused Johnson to be held out against Minnesota, and he left the game against Illinois with a foot injury. In early October, Johnson suffered a season-ending injury. Despite those injuries, Johnson looked like a consensus top-20 pick after his excellent seasons of good tape.

The ‘Why’

In speaking to team sources, Johnson slid for a few reasons. One, teams did not like that Johnson did not run a 40-yard dash before the draft to provide a measurement of his timed speed. Late in the process, Johnson did a workout for scouts and they felt the workout was unimpressive. Team sources also were unethused about Johnson from a character perspective.

The Arizona Cardinals ended Johnson’s slide in the second round, and that was a great landing spot for him. Johnson could be the future No. 1 corner for Arizona, and he was a massive steal in the second round. Arizona has a veteran in Sean Murphy-Bunting, but other than him, they have young cornerbacks fighting for playing time and a starting spot. Johnson will compete with the likes of Max Melton (2024 second-rounder), Garrett Williams (2023 third-rounder), and Starling Thomas V (claim from Detroit). In the long term, Johnson should win a starting spot soon and could be the top corner for Arizona. Melton and Williams could round out a starting trio with Thomas providing quality rotational depth. Johnson has true boom pick potential for the Cardinals.