Revenge of the Birds
Michigan CB Will Johnson is the current leader in the clubhouse
For anyone who wants to predict the Cardinals’ top target “Plan A” in the 1st round of the 2025 NFL Draft, a great place to start is to check out the team’s Top 30 visits.
One may be apt to believe that at this point Will Johnson and Shemar Stewart are the leaders in the clubhouse.
ESPN’s Rankings and Evals, per Matt Miller:
2025 NFL draft rankings: Matt Miller’s top 50 prospects - ESPN
Height: 6-2 | Weight: 194
NFL teams looking for the next Pat Surtain II will love Johnson. He has prototypical size and speed, as well as excellent ball skills. He grabbed two interceptions this past season — both of which were returned for touchdowns. Despite battling through injury, Johnson allowed only one completion of more than 20 yards in the six games he played and is rarely thrown at. He has the talent and traits to be a great NFL cornerback right out of the gate. Johnson did not work out at the combine and didn’t participate at Michigan’s pro day on Friday due to a minor hamstring injury. He plans to hold a private workout for teams on April 14.
Why the Cardinals would select Will Johnson at #16: Johnson has elite traits as a perimeter zone defender. JG and Nick Rallis played zone coverage more than 60% of the snaps last year and they would like to be more prolific at playing zones so that they can increase their use of zone coverages.
Height: 6-5 | Weight: 267
Defensive line coaches will be in love with Stewart’s upside when they look at his film. His frame provides positional and alignment versatility, but his quickness and power off the ball should have them thinking about ways to get him splitting gaps and getting after quarterbacks. He had only 1.5 sacks in 2024 while working in a heavy rotation, but his 25 pressures show how much impact he can make.
Scouts wanted to see Stewart’s potential during combine workouts, and he answered the call. Down 14 pounds from his Senior Bowl weight, Stewart ran a 4.59 40, jumped 40 inches in the vertical and 10-foot-11 in the broad jump. Those numbers show elite explosiveness and traits that a good defensive line coach can unlock.
Why the Cardinals would select Shamar Stewart as #16:
Not only is Shemar Stewart’s RAS off the charts, his positional inside/outside versatility is also rare:
2024 Snaps:
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