Lloyd Christmas would be proud.
The Arizona Cardinals’ chances of nabbing Michigan cornerback Will Johnson in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft weren’t great.
Nearly zero to be exact, according to head coach Jonathan Gannon.
"When we picked him, literally 8 defensive coordinators texted me." @AZCardinals HC Jonathan Gannon tells @AdamSchein how fired up he was to land star #Michigan corner Will Johnson in round 2 of the NFL Draft.
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— Mad Dog Sports Radio (@MadDogRadio) April 30, 2025
“When we left on Thursday, we had him graded very high,” Gannon told SiriusXM’s Mad Dog Radio on Wednesday. “In my mind, I was like, ‘There is no chance he’s there when we pick in (Round 2), like none.’ And we get there Friday and (general manager Monti Ossenfort) has all these algorithms that he has all the analytics people run and all this stuff. I said, ‘What are the chances that he’s there in 2?’
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“They’re like, ‘Coach, like 0.02%.’ Like no chance. So, when he was sitting there, I’m like, ‘Dude, am I missing something? Like, this is the best corner in the draft!'”
So, you’re telling me there was a chance!
Sure enough, the stars aligned with Johnson linking up with Gannon and the Cardinals at No. 47 overall.
Gannon wasn’t the only one shocked by his availability on Day 2, either.
“You know what’s funny? I’m going to air dirty laundry here, but as the draft’s going on, coaches are texting back and forth — not just our staff, but other staffs, people that you worked with or that you know and you make a pick and certain coaches like certain guys,” Gannon said. “When we picked him, literally like eight defensive coordinators texted me like, ‘Oh my God, No. 1 corner on the board, blah, blah, blah, blah.’ And for whatever reason he came to us.”
The reason behind Will Johnson’s second-round skid
Johnson’s fall down the draft board from projected first-rounder to Day 2 pick centers largely around his injury history.
The cornerback dealt with shoulder and turf toe issues last season that limited him to just six games played.
During the draft process, he was held out of participating at the NFL Scouting Combine due to a hamstring injury. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport also mentioned a knee issue.
Johnson, however, has since reiterated that he’s healthy and hasn’t dealt with any knee issues in two years.
Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort doubled down on Johnson’s health status, saying the team felt good with its evaluation of the cornerback.
Aside from the injury concerns, there’s not a lot to knock about Johnson’s game.
Johnson was a pick six waiting to happen at Michigan, taking three of his nine career picks to the house. Two of those came during his injury-riddled final season at Michigan.
He added 10 passes defensed and 68 tackles across 32 career games.
There’s a reason why ESPN’s Field Yates told Arizona Sports’ Bickley & Marotta on Wednesday that Johnson was “a home run” addition based on his draft spot.
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