Cardinals: We Got Best CB in NFL Draft

When the 2025 NFL Draft concluded, opinions from far and wide evaluated the Arizona Cardinals' class of seven players and arrived to the same conclusion: Mission accomplished.

The Cardinals bolstered their defense in a massive way last weekend by adding two of the draft's top defenders in Ole Miss DL Walter Nolen and Michigan CB Will Johnson.

Nolen was selected in the first round while Johnson - a projected first-rounder himself - slid to pick 47 in the second round before Arizona stopped his slide.

Johnson's draft stock was reportedly impacted by long-term medical concerns surrounding his knee, though when speaking with Mad Dog Sports Radio, Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon says Arizona got the best corner in the class in Johnson.

Jonathan Gannon: We Drafted Best CB in Will Johnson

"We were really comfortable with the medical. I know he was nicked up a touch in his career just like most of the guys but when we left on Thursday, we had him graded very high and in my mind I was like, 'There is no chance he's there when we pick in [round] two. Like none.' Right?" Gannon said.

"We get there Friday, and 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?' And they're like 'Coach, like 0.02. Like, no chance.'"

"So when he was sitting there, I'm like; 'Dude am I missing something? This is the best corner in the draft. What are we talking about?'

"And there was a group of players we liked right when we were picking, and that was kind of a no-brainer, too. We think this guy's a starting corner, and just the person is phenomenal. His intangibles. He's very intelligent. And it really is a scheme fit for us, too, so it was like; 'Dude, let's take that guy.' So when we picked him it was like; 'Holy cow, man.' I did not think he was going to be there.

Gannon said when the Cardinals drafted Johnson, eight NFL defensive coordinators texted Gannon to congratulate him on landing the No. 1 corner in the draft.

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