TEMPE, Ariz. — Reality hit Will Johnson late on the last Thursday of April, not long after the Buffalo Bills had selected Kentucky cornerback Maxwell Hairston with the 30th pick of the NFL Draft. Johnson knew Hairston well. They both had been trained at Sound Mind Sound Body Academy in Detroit, which made them sort of like football brothers.
In 24 hours, Johnson would find his NFL home, selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the second round, the draft’s 47th overall pick, a fall that turned into a head-scratching storyline. Even Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon, working the draft from team headquarters in Arizona, wondered: “Dude, am I missing something?”
It wasn’t the NFL launch point that Johnson and anyone close to him expected, but it provided strong motivation. Curtis Blackwell, a long-time family friend, told him: “Will, this is either the end of your story or the beginning of the next chapter in your life. But you’re writing it. If we’re watching a movie, this is pretty much the part that gets really interesting because (people) want to see what happens next.”
For most of the draft’s buildup, Johnson, an All-American at Michigan, had been considered among the event’s top prospects. Aside from Travis Hunter, the Heisman Trophy winner from Colorado, Johnson was considered the draft’s best cornerback. He had good size, clean footwork and strong playmaking skills. His biggest question — health.
Johnson had missed seven games the previous college season, one for a shoulder issue and six for a toe injury. But the bigger issue seemed to stem from a knee injury that required minor surgery following Johnson’s freshman season in 2022. On the draft’s opening night, ESPN reported that teams remained concerned.
Deon Johnson, the cornerback’s father, was stunned. Like his son, Johnson had once played cornerback at Michigan, lining up on the same defense as Ty Law, a cornerback who would end up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Deon Johnson had co-founded Sound Mind Sound Body along with Blackwell, helping young players in Detroit get the exposure and skills needed to thrive.
“The procedure was not an extensive procedure,” said Deon Johnson, adding that he had documentation from Brian Cole, the orthopedic surgeon from Chicago who had performed the surgery, as well as from Michigan athletic trainers indicating as much. “And he hasn’t had any complications, any soreness, any swelling, any concern of the knee in over two years. It was kind of shocking to us.”
Will Johnson arrived at the NFL Draft expecting to hear his name called in the first round. Instead, he slipped to the Cardinals in the middle of the second. (Perry Knotts / Getty Images)
Even so, on that first night in Green Bay, Wis., where the draft unfolded at historic Lambeau Field, Deon Johnson still expected to hear NFL commissioner Roger Goodell call out his son’s name. If not among the top 10, then at 13, 14 or 15. Worst case, Blackwell thought the Los Angeles Chargers and Jim Harbaugh, who had coached Johnson for two seasons at Michigan, would select Johnson at No. 22. And yet:
With the 19th pick, Tampa Bay selects WR Emeka Egbuka, Ohio State.
With the 20th pick, Denver selects CB Jahdae Barron, Texas.
With the 21st pick, Pittsburgh selects DT Derrick Harmon, Oregon.
With the 22nd pick, the Chargers select RB Omarion Hampton, North Carolina.
Chad Hepner watched all this from his home in Grosse Pointe, a suburb of Detroit. He had been defensive coordinator at Grosse Pointe South High when Johnson had enrolled as a freshman. Hepner had heard of Johnson — he knew he had great size and length — but initially he was skeptical that Johnson would be ready to contribute at such a young age. He was wrong.
Johnson impressed at every step. Through summer 7-on-7 and into August practice. Then, once the season kicked off, Hepner watched in disbelief as Johnson made a one-handed, back-handed interception, a play few players, regardless of age, could make. Hepner at the time didn’t know Johnson would develop into an NFL draft pick, but he knew he had a special player. Which is why Johnson’s fall was hard to watch.
“It’s easier for me to say, ‘Hey, wherever he goes he’s going to have a great opportunity and he’s going to be able to make his mark,’” Hepner said. “But for him in the moment, I knew that was tough to swallow because expectations were really high, for good reason.”
As Johnson waited, he watched Michigan teammates get their moment. Defensive tackle Mason Graham went fifth to Cleveland. Tight end Colston Loveland went 10th to Chicago. Defensive tackle Kenneth Grant went 13th to Miami. Johnson also had friends from Sound Mind Sound Body get drafted. First, Oregon’s Harmon. Then Kentucky’s Hairston. Johnson celebrated those picks because they were part of his football family, but inside he was devastated.
After the draft, the Johnson party — a group of around 10 — left the green room and headed to the family pickup area. “The longest walk I’ve ever taken,” Blackwell said. “No one said a word.” The group piled into a limousine van and rode in silence to a hotel where people were celebrating. “Everybody in that hotel was partying,” Blackwell said.
The next morning, the Johnsons rode to Appleton International Airport for the trip back to Detroit. It was strange having Johnson with them — everyone had assumed he would be traveling with the team that had just drafted him. Deon Johnson was worried about his son, but then he saw Johnson smile. And he heard him crack a joke.
“That’s when me and Will got a chance to talk about trusting the process and how we thank God for everything,” Blackwell said. “Some of the best things in life come from the hardest things. We make it all count.”
Across the country, as the Cardinals prepared for Day 2, Gannon, as relayed on a recent podcast appearance with Adam Schein, wondered whether Johnson might be available when Arizona selected at No. 47. He asked general manager Monti Ossenfort and the Cardinals draft team if there might be a chance. He jokingly was told “.02 percent.”
The Johnsons watched Day 2 at the Ann Arbor home of Kayli Johnson, the cornerback’s sister. She works as director of on-campus recruiting for Michigan football. Friends and family who couldn’t make the Green Bay trip arrived. The group was positive, but stressed. Deon Johnson was so nervous — especially as teams in the second round passed on his son — he left to take Rose, the family’s goldendoodle, for a walk.
Finally, Arizona was on the clock. The Cardinals selected Johnson. Gannon, who said the Cardinals were comfortable with Johnson’s medical info, told Schein that he immediately got several text messages from NFL defensive coaches, all praising the decision.
“It’s kind of like hearing your name when you hear his name get called,” Deon Johnson said. “It’s a big sense of relief, happiness. But you still have that little bit of fire burning like, ‘Folks messed up.’”
“I’m happy to be here, happy to get to work, and happy to see what’s to come”@Willj1228 pic.twitter.com/kd4mvKfwH7
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) May 8, 2025
Last week, Johnson returned to Arizona — he had trained at Exos Sports Performance in Phoenix leading up to the draft — for the start of rookie minicamp. The 22-year-old said he had moved on from the draft disappointment, but that he planned to use it as motivation. He called Arizona’s scheme a “cornerback’s dream.” He said his knee is 100 percent.
Gannon said Johnson, along with Arizona’s other rookies, would face a steep learning curve. Mistakes are exposed in the NFL, especially for young corners. Rookies who contribute early usually are those who learn quickest. “In-between your ears is what separates a lot of guys,” Gannon said.
Those who know Johnson best insist the draft experience will make him better. It will drive him, not consume him. He’ll understand that work will determine success, not draft position. And that a new chapter in his football journey is about to begin.
“As a DB, you got to have a short memory, right?” Deon Johnson said. “You got to move on to the next play. That’s what I’ve always taught him. You can’t carry one bad play the whole game with you. You got to be able to move on. And I think he has that mentality. He’s ready to go.”
(Top photo: Megan Mendoza / The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)