With the heavy lifting from free agency over, a lot of the attention has turned to the 2026 draft. The annual event is rapidly approaching, and teams are solidifying their draft boards. Even though things will change between now and draft weekend, it appears that the Green Bay Packers have their eyes on San Diego State CB Chris Johnson.
Gery Woelfel of Woelfelspressbox.com reported that the Packers are "keenly interested" in Johnson. Green Bay already had a formal interview with him, and they plan to speak with him again on a Zoom call. The Packers aren't hiding their interest in the CB, and it appears he'll be a target for them at the top of the second round.
Packers Have Interest in San Diego State CB Chris Johnson
It's no secret that the Packers are looking at CB after the way last season played out. Green Bay allowed Trevon Diggs to hit free agency, and it released Nate Hobbs after just one season in Titletown. They did sign Benjamin St-Juste to a two-year, $10 million deal, but the Packers still need to add more reinforcements to that room.
Johnson was a starter over the last two seasons at San Diego State, where his game continued to improve. He's a versatile piece that can play in multiple schemes and can line up both inside/out. Johnson is very technical with his footwork and brings toughness to the secondary.
In 47 collegiate games (23 starts), he logged 152 total tackles, five forced fumbles, 20 pass deflections, six interceptions, and two defensive touchdowns. According to the Pro Football Focus grading system, Johnson finished with a 91.6 overall grade (2nd among 897 graded cornerbacks) and a 92.4 coverage grade (3rd among 897 graded cornerbacks).
He continued to impress at the NFL Scouting Combine, where he ran a 4.4 40-yard dash and had a 38" vertical jump. Many different draft experts, including NFL Network's Lance Zierlein, believe he'll develop into a plus starter in the NFL.
The Packers don't have a first-round selection this year due to the Micah Parsons trade, meaning their first pick will come at No. 52 overall in the 2nd round. Whether Johnson will still be on the board then remains to be seen, as Woelfel hinted he might land in the 30-40 range, but there's no hiding that the Packers are interested. When examining the depth chart, Keisean Nixon and Carrington Valentine are the starters on the outside, but there's no question that Johnson would make a push to start on Day 1.
Adding more fuel to the fire are Johnson's RAS (Relative Athletic Scores) numbers. The defender posted a 9.83 score, which was a close comparison to Marshon Lattimore (9.96). And if Johnson is anything close to the player that Lattimore was in his prime, he'll be one of the better corners in the NFL.
The Packers know they need to get better in the CB room, which is why they are expressing a lot of interest in Johnson. While there are some areas where he needs to improve, such as tracking the ball downfield, he makes up for it with his man/zone coverage ability and instinctive nature. If Green Bay were able to draft Johnson, he would immediately become one of their best DBs, but there's a lot of time between now and then. Nonetheless, Packer fans will be thrilled that the team is looking to improve at one of the weakest positions on this defense.