Cardinals Rookie Now Has Direct Path to Starting Role

The time may already be here for Will Johnson to step into the role as CB1 for the Arizona Cardinals.

It was always in the inevitability, but it’s not something that many were anticipating would be the case so soon.

This all comes in light of the recent and unfortunate news that Sean Murphy-Bunting will miss the entire 2025 season with an undisclosed injury. With him out of the folds, Johnson has a direct line to finding starting reps.

It won’t necessarily be easy, however, as the Cardinals have quite the room of depth, youth, and talent at cornerback.

Johnson will be tasked with fending off Max Melton, Starling Thomas, Elijah Jones and free agent signing Jaylon Jones for starting time. Fellow rookie Denzel Burke will also put a bid in to find the field. Jaden Davis and Kei’Trel Clark will be competing for a roster spot and that kind of pressure could push them to their best.

Garrett Williams is excluded from that group, as he is the starting nickel corner for the team and earned his spot a long time ago.

Johnson may be the most talented of that group, and with no disrespect to the others quite a bit better, but that doesn’t automatically separate him.

But I keep mentioning Johnson is a better player from the group without crediting the others. Melton was one of the more reliable starting corners for the team last season and should be a favorite for one of the two starting roles.

Thomas has vastly out performed expectations and also has a strong case to start.

Jaylon Jones only has five starts after three seasons with the Bears, but it does give him far more experience than the rest of the roster.

Elijah Jones is a player to keep an eye on. Arizona spent a third-round pick on him last season and although he didn’t see the field, he will play himself in that group to compete for starting role.

I’m a fan of Burke and his upside, but he needs time to develop. Davis and Clark are bubble players as of now, but that still plenty of competition.

But with all that said, Johnson remains in a tier of his own.

It seems as though many have overlooked how at one point in time, Johnson was widely viewed as one of the 10 best players in the 2025 NFL Draft. He slipped due to long-term injury concerns — not his play.

If not for those concerns, Arizona would have been forced to take him at 16 overall to secure his services.

Johnson is incredibly skilled in coverage both in zone and press. His mirror-match ability makes him a hard man to shake when he glues his hip to his opposition. He also has remarkable ball skills to make quarterbacks pay if they do choose to throw his way.

There are times those ball skills lead to overconfidence and some greediness to make a play on the ball, however. It can lead to big plays allowed, and he will need to put the time in the film room to understand tendencies for himself and opposing quarterbacks.

When, not if, Johnson figures out which moments are and are not appropriate to gamble, he will become one of the NFL’s most dangerous cover men.

The coverage and ball instincts helped to separate Johnson from the rest of the room. From there on, the only things that could possibly stall him or himself and/or injuries.

A clear path is in front of Johnson to seize his destiny from day one. In his defense, it’s not as though Murphy-Bunting was completely preventing him from starting; it just made it more difficult with more competition and especially considering SMB‘s long track record of starting games.

But he’s out of the way now, as unfortunate as it may be. It makes the competition lighter and creates a much more direct path to the CB1 role.

It’s up to Johnson to lock it down, but not much will prevent him so long as he’s dialed in.