B/R: Cardinals CB Will Lead Rookies in This Stat

It's a near universal opinion the Arizona Cardinals got arguably the biggest steal of the 2025 NFL Draft when Will Johnson fell to their laps in the second round. The Michigan star was once thought of as a consensus first-round pick who could go as high as the top 10.

Unfortunately, long-term injury concerns led to an unprecedented fall and now he's looking to make the league pay for letting the drop happen.

There are a number of ways that Johnson can beat you as a defender and perhaps the most attractive aspect of his game is his ball skill. Johnson left Ann Arbor with nine career interceptions in 32 games. He took three of those to the house, as well.

We've seen cornerbacks who leave college with those kinds of ball skills translate to the pros. Marcus Peters is a great example of this after hauling in eight interceptions as a rookie.

Johnson is hoping to follow in those footsteps and become a turnover machine out the gate. Moe Moton from Bleacher Report is predicting that to be the outcome.

In a piece projecting rookie stat leaders amongst the incoming rookie class across the league, Moton chose Johnson as his candidate to lead his colleagues in interceptions with five.

For his defense of the pick, Moton says, "...many draft analysts believed he's the best cornerback in this year's class. With some extra incentive, Johnson will put his ball-tracking skills on full display."

It certainly isn't out of the realm of possibilities for a player that has publicly stated his frustration with falling so far in the draft. A player with Johnson's turnover potency is a dangerous player to test even as a rookie.

The Cardinals host a deep secondary with several cornerbacks worthy of starting for many NFL teams. Sean Murphy-Bunting and Max Melton are currently the favorites to win the two starting jobs outside with Starling Thomas V not far behind.

Johnson will keep that group on their toes as perhaps the best of the bunch.

It will be a matter of when, not if, Johnson gets on the field as a rookie for when he will begin making an impact and creating havoc. It may come early in the year or it may take some time for him to be prepared for the next level.

But one thing is for sure - his ball skills are as good as anyone else in the draft. He can quickly place himself among some of the best ball hawks in the league early in his career and an output like that in his rookie season would be quite the statement and coming out party.

Five interceptions as a rookie would be near the top of the league entirely, and a season like that would put everyone on notice the way Johnson is hoping to.