School: Michigan
Year: Jr
Position: CB

Physical Attributes

• Height: 6-3
• Weight: 193
• RAS: Incomplete
• 40 Time: 4.69 (Pro Day)

Rankings

• Joe’s Ranking: 6.5
• Consensus Position Rank: 2
• My Position Ranking: 4
• Difference in Ranking: -2
• Tier: 3
• Projected Round: 2

Games Watched

• Ohio State ’23
• Washington ’23
• USC ’24
• Illinois ’24
• Texas ’24
• Washington ’24
• Alabama ’23
• Fresno State ’24

Ryan’s Notes

Positives

• Johnson moves through space effectively using zone techniques. This pairs well with his heightened awareness and quick responses to route exchanges to minimize zone throwing windows.
• His quickness out of his breaks to get downhill is elite and it catches quarterbacks off guard, he can do this out of shuffle, catch or trap techniques too which is a dangerous weapon.
• He pairs that skill with an aggressive pursuit of the ball which some teams will see as too risky but others may covet it. This is how he had two pick 6s in 2024 alone.
• I think he’d make a good zone corner especially in a scheme that would keep him in the hook, curl or flats where his best tape is especially when attacking downhill.
• From this tape I think he could even move around for a defense at the next level. I actually like a move to either the apex or a full shift to safety for him. He has shown good tape whenever he has been asked to roll up high, such as against Washington in the CFB final.

Negatives

• I have some real questions over this man coverage skills. His press technique is all show and no substance with a violent jam but his footwork gets him into trouble from this position.
• Additionally his hip speed is below the standards you’d expect, his zone footwork is clean enough to stay in position but when he’s in tight for man it is tough to hide.
• Both Rome Oduzne and Marvin Harrison Jr took him to task towards the end of his sophomore season resulting in a combination of allowed completions, missed tackles and penalties.
• He has a tendency to rock back onto his heels as he readies for his hip transition and it has got him stuck a few times, some receivers were able to expose this negative trait.
• This also extends to double moves which have caught him out several times
• His tackling is suspect which is a glaring weakness, he has been beaten in a variety of ways but the most egregious is when attacking hitch routes as a zone corner a few receivers have gotten away untouched from these situations.
• Even before his injury, his 2024 tape was significantly worse than 2023 which does raise some red flags.
• His discipline in big moments is poor, he has shown a lack of mental fortitude at times to draw flags when they could have been avoided.

Ryan’s Summary

Will Johnson is a big zone corner with a dangerous nose for the ball, if your quarterback thinks he is safe throwing the ball late to the flats then the former Michigan Wolverine will be all too keen to prove you wrong. With a quick trigger and a solid understanding of throwing windows, he’s a threat in these situations. However he has a big weakness that should give teams pause, he is straight up bad at open field tackles. He misses in several ways including when aiming for stick routes from off coverage which is the bread and butter of one of the most common Quarters beaters in the league. When you add in his shaky tape whenever he was asked to play man coverage and his tendency to be a bit soft in physical matchups, for us there are enough concerns to knock him down into Day 2.