It’s never too early for a 2025 NFL mock draft, right? The 33rd Team’s Ian Valentino recently published his mock draft, preseason edition, and he has the Tennessee Titans taking University of Michigan cornerback Will Johnson with the No. 5 overall pick.
First, the player. Johnson has good size for a defensive back, listed at 6-foot-2 and 202 pounds. The former four-star recruit has been a ball hawk in his first two years for the Wolverines, accumulating seven interceptions and seven pass deflections.
Johnson had an outstanding sophomore campaign in which he racked up 27 tackles, four interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown, and four pass deflections in 12 games played.
As a result, the accolades were endless in 2023: first-team All-American, All-Big Ten selection, National Championship Game Defensive Most Valuable Player, three-time Defensive Player of the Week honors, just to name a few.
Assuming he has another productive year at Michigan, Johnson should go very high in the 2025 NFL draft.
However, in terms of the fit, the Titans recently signed L’Jarius Sneed and Chidobe Awuzie to multi-year deals, so he would likely be buried on the depth chart until their contracts expire.
Perhaps the larger concern is that if the Titans are picking No. 5 overall in next year’s draft, that likely means that second-year quarterback Will Levis failed to take the next step in his development.
Levis accumulated 1,808 passing yards with an 8-to-4 touchdown-to-interception ratio during his rookie season, in which he registered the lowest completion percentage (58.4%) among qualified NFL quarterbacks.
Given how much talent the Titans added to the offensive side of the ball, Levis should be in a prime position to succeed this year. If Tennessee is picking within the top five next year, that may point to a much bigger need than Will Johnson and the cornerback position.
