With injury rehab preventing Will Johnson from showcasing his skills ahead of the NFL Draft, his stock now has a wide range.
Since arguably his freshman season, Michigan defensive back Will Johnson has been considered a likely top-10 pick in the NFL Draft. Johnson dealt with injuries during every year at Michigan and missed 10 games in the last two seasons.
Johnson last played against Illinois and then never returned for Michigan last year. Now during NFL Draft prep, Johnson has been unable to compete at the NFL Draft combine or during Michigan's hosted Pro Day. Johnson and his team are assuring NFL teams he will conduct a private workout in April once his hamstring is healed, but in the meantime, his draft stock has fluctuated in recent weeks.
Johnson was once favored to go somewhere around #4 to #6. In 35 mock drafts completed since March 22, the Raiders at #6 are the highest Johnson is mocked, while he is now mocked as low as #30 to the Bills. More shocking might be the lack of consensus and number of teams.
Here is where Johnson is mocked most often in mock drafts.
Saints – #9 – 17.1%
Raiders – #6 – 11.4%
Dolphins – #13 – 14.3%
Cowboys – #12 – 5.7%
Panthers – #8 – 8.6%
Cardinals – #16 – 5.7%
49ers – #11 – 11.4%
Chargers – #22 – 2.9%
Bengals – #17 – 2.9%
Falcons – #15 – 2.9%
Colts – #14 – 2.9%
Seahawks – #18 – 2.9%
Buccaneers – #19 – 5.7%
Packers – #23 – 2.9%
Vikings – #24 – 2.9%
Bills – #30 – 2.9%
Johnson could still be chosen in the top-10 with the Saints and Raiders listed as the top options, but now the majority of the drafts have Johnson going somewhere in the top 20.
With a month to go until the NFL Draft, it will be interesting to see if Johnson is able to hold private workouts if his stock returns to likely top-10 pick or if he is unable to do the workouts or doesn't perform well and his stock continues to drop.
Michigan could have as many as five first-round picks taken in the NFL Draft with Johnson, Mason Graham, Kenneth Grant, Colston Loveland, and Josaiah Stewart all appearing in the first round of some mock drafts.
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