he Buffalo Bills managed to retain more than a handful of top producers from the 2024 season by re-signing the likes of Josh Allen, Khalil Shakir, Gregory Rousseau, Terrel Bernard, and Christian Benford this offseason.
Yet, the Bills still haven’t found a firm replacement for veteran cornerback Rasul Douglas — which could them in the market for a cornerback.
In the latest PFF mock draft, one scenario has the Bills aggressively trading up in the first round to select one of the top DB prospects in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Bills Move Up 11 Spots to Select Michigan CB Will Johnson at No. 19 Overall
Once upon a time, the Buffalo Bills traded up in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft to select Florida CB Kaiir Elam. Unfortunately, that move did not yield the type of returns general manager Brandon Beane and head coach Sean McDermott originally expected.
Elam was traded to the Dallas Cowboys earlier this offseason. When you combine that move with Rasul Douglas not being re-signed through the first month of free agency, one could make a strong argument the Bills are still in need of a cornerback opposite the aforementioned Benford entering the upcoming season.
Fortunately for the Bills Mafia, PFF’s Dalton Wasserman has Buffalo striking a deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to move up to No. 19 overall and select Michigan CB Will Johnson.
Wasserman wrote, “The Bills have plenty of defensive depth but lack star power and are extremely thin at cornerback. With an extra second-round pick at their disposal, they should trade up and grab a potential star like Johnson. While he’s had some recent injury issues, he earned an elite 91.3 PFF coverage grade during his three seasons at Michigan.”
Will Johnson dealt with injuries throughout the 2024 campaign, which helped push him from a potential top 5 pick in the draft all the way into the back half of the first round.
How Does Johnson Fit in the Buffalo Secondary?
Johnson’s draft profile on PFF reads in part, “Johnson is a long, lean cornerback with elite foot quickness and change-of-direction fluidity. His limited long speed will create questions about his man coverage reliability in the NFL, but having him play off coverage with his eyes on the ball as a zone-scheme wide cornerback could allow him to make impactful plays more often.”
Questions do remain about Johnson’s speed and whether he would be best suited for press-man duties against elite vertical threats at the NFL level, but his tape is littered with some great off-coverage reps and route recognition to become an instant impact player on Sundays.
Despite his injury-riddled 2024 campaign, Johnson set a career-high with two interceptions returned for a touchdown in just six games played last year. Johnson’s best collegiate came in 2023 where his 27 total tackles and four interceptions helped the Michigan Wolverines win a National Championship.
Johnson would slide into an outside corner role alongside Benford and slot corner Taron Johnson very nicely to round out a secondary that had some struggles over the back half of the season.
The cost to move up 11 spots in this mock draft scenario was the 62nd pick in this draft, which wouldn’t feel as costly given the second-rounder they acquired from Houston last offseason in the Stefon Diggs trade.