The Arizona Cardinals selected former Michigan cornerback Will Johnson 47th overall in the 2025 NFL draft, a surprising turn of events considering the former Wolverine was a projected top five to ten pick for several years running.
Johnson led the Michigan Wolverines to the 2023-2024 National Championship after they ran roughshod through the Big Ten and defeated Washington to secure an undefeated 15-0 season.
Johnson’s 2024-2025 did not go as planned as he fought through injuries for much of the year.
Many draft experts expected the former five-star high school prospect to slip in the draft, but not as far as he did this past April.
On Sunday, Johnson’s warning to the rest of the NFL was revealed.
“They gon have to pay for this (expletive), I promise you,” Johnson said.
“Arizona finna get a dawg,” he continued in video footage posted on X.
Powerful: Cardinals rookie CB Will Johnson says he will make every NFL team that passed on him regret it:
“They gon have to pay for this sh*t, I promise you. Arizona finna get a dawg”
Johnson slipped to the second round 👀 pic.twitter.com/dN1amKAj1X
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) May 5, 2025
Fans reacted after watching the video.
“I’ve heard this exact statement from about 10 rookies this year,” they said.
“This man spent the last 3 years abusing Olave, Jeremiah Smith and Marvin Harrison yet mfs passed on him…Cardinals got a DAWG!” one fan said, incorrectly stating that Johnson faced Jeremiah Smith in the 2024 Ohio State game.
Johnson is known as a strong cover corner with the ability to step up and make plays in run support.
He was docked points by NFL draft analysts because of his tendency to gamble for big plays during the 2024 season, when Michigan’s offense was short on talent at the quarterback position and overmatched in many of its early season games.
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