The New Orleans Saints have a massive need at cornerback and could be in the perfect spot to draft a plug-and-play guy for the next five years in the 2025 NFL draft.
That’s exactly the route that Sporting News’ Vinnie Iyer went in his latest mock, selecting Michigan Wolverines cornerback Will Johnson with the ninth-overall selection for the Saints. This is what Iyer had to say about the pick:
The Saints need to reboot at cornerback with Marshon Lattimore gone and injuries piling up at the position. Johnson has a lot of appeal with size made to handle most bigger wide receivers. He is good enough to develop into a shutdown cover man early in his career.
Johnson has prototypical NFL size and 6-foot-2, 202-pounds. He was a starter as a freshman and has made All-American teams in all three years of his college career.
The 21-year-old loves to go after the ball and it has worked out well for him in his career with nine interceptions and three touchdowns. When he is on the field, he locks his guy down.
One issue, and it will have many New Orleans fans out due to PTSD, is that he has missed at least three games in each of the last two seasons. It was a knee injury in 2023 and then he suffered both a shoulder contusion and turf toe in 2024. They are fairly fluky injuries, but something worth noting.
Johnson would still make a lot of sense as a choice. He and Kool-Aid McKinstry could become a cheap, talented starting duo for the next few years as the team rebuilds and gets out of salary cap hell.
