Arizona Cardinals cornerback Will Johnson (0) during minicamp at the Cardinals training center in Tempe on June 11, 2025. Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Arizona Cardinals Raving About Rookie CB

Originally posted on Arizona Cardinals on SI
By Donnie Druin | Last updated Jun 23, 2025 5:30 PM ET

Arizona Cardinals CB Will Johnson has been impressive since the moment reporters got on the phone with him following his notable slide into the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft.

Johnson, who dropped to pick 47 due to medical concerns, was considered to be one of the top corner prospects in the class - and Arizona potentially landed the steal of the draft should he remain healthy.

So far, so good for Johnson in his early auditions to become a starter out of the gate:

Arizona Cardinals Rookie Will Johnson Impressing Teammates

Appearing on Arizona Sports' 98.7 FM, teammate Michael Wilson offered quite the words of praise for Johnson:

"Yeah, he looks focused," Wilson said (h/t Jess Root, Cards Wire). "When certain guys step in a locker room or step on a field, you can tell if someone's dead serious about football. And I think he's one of those guys that lives, breathes, and dies football.

"I think he's going to be somebody who lives up to the hype of the pick where he was taken. I think, going into last year, you saw people were saying he should have been a top 10 pick or was projected to a top 10 pick and then had the injury situation, whatever. I don't know. I'm not educated on all that, but I know he fell in the draft because of injury and stuff. So I think he's going to be a special player."

That's certainly a shared opinion in the facility, as head coach Jonathan Gannon revealed a handful of defensive coordinators texted him following Johnson's pick on draft night:

"When we picked him, literally like eight defensive coordinators texted me like 'Oh my God!' Like 'number one corner on the board!' Like, they all want him," Gannon said earlier this offseason.

"For whatever reason, he came to us."

Johnson has yet to sign his rookie contract, standing as the lone Arizona player from the 2025 draft class to be unsigned, though that should be cleared before the Cardinals begin training camp later in July.

Johnson's length and ballhawk ability meshes well with what the Cardinals want to do on the defensive side of the ball. With Sean Murphy-Bunting now out of the picture, the Cardinals could see the Michigan product take over starting boundary cornerback duties from Day 1.

Johnson is certainly talented enough to do so.