The Las Vegas Raiders’ roster could use some depth and extra talent at cornerback heading into the 2026 NFL draft. As a result, the Raiders held a top 30 visit with former San Diego State corner, Chris Johnson, who ranks 39th overall on NFL Mock Draft Database’s consensus big board, as of April 14, putting him on the table for the Raiders’ second-round pick.
Ball skills are likely a big reason why Las Vegas is interested in Johnson, as he came down with four interceptions and returned two of them for touchdowns in 11 games last season. Additionally, the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year was responsible for eight forced incompletions at a 19 percent rate, per Pro Football Focus, which ranked tied for third and tied for fourth, respectively, among the conference’s cornerbacks.
All of that helped Johnson finish in the top 20 for FBS corners with a 41.9 completion percentage when targeted and the second-best PFF coverage grade (92.4). Of course, the level of competition plays a big factor, but those numbers are similar to expected first-round pick Mansoor Delane’s: 40.0 and 90.7.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at what the former Aztec could bring to the Silver and Black.
High IQ play from Chris Johnson-Doesn't fall for the lazy WR release on the PA fake-Reads QB's eyes, flips his hips and tracks the ball-Undercuts route for pick 6#NFLDraft2026 pic.twitter.com/kZ0cXnvb5t
A defensive back has to have a high football IQ to come up with as many interceptions as Johnson did last season, and we’ll get a good example of that on this rep.
Cal runs a play-action pass where the two eligible wide receivers help sell the run fake by, essentially, just dogging it off the line of scrimmage. The offense’s goal is to beat the secondary over the top by either lulling the defensive backs to sleep or getting them to crash downhill and provide run support. However, Johnson doesn’t take the bait.
To be fair, he does get some help from the defense’s play call. San Diego State is running a three-deep, three-under fire zone, meaning they’re blitzing a linebacker, and the corner’s primary job is to keep everything in front of him. But the run fake isn’t the only way his intelligence stands out here.
Johnson reads the quarterback’s eyes and sees the quarterback staring down the seam route. So, he opens his hips to the middle of the field and starts to squeeze the seam to help his teammates in coverage while still being in a position to get to the sideline. As a result, the quarterback goes to his second read and thinks he has the outside receiver wide open on a fade route for an easy touchdown.
However, Johnson still has eyes on the QB and ends up baiting this throw. Once he sees the QB’s throwing motion start, the corner flips his hips, reads the ball in the air and steps in front of the receiver to come up with the pick. On top of that, he finishes by reading a block and taking it all the way back to the house for a near 100-yard pick-six.
In other words, the former Aztec essentially pulled the uno-reverse card on the offense, going from an attempt to set him up for a touchdown to setting himself up to score a touchdown.
Chris Johnson recently had a top 30 visit with the #Raiders, and the 4 INTs he had last season are likely a big reason LV is interested in himNice job stepping in front of the comeback to get a pick here #NFLDraft2026 pic.twitter.com/d49T6w9Ebz
The play calls are a little simpler on this one. Northern Illinois calls a play-action bootleg with a high-low route combination from the two receivers at the top of the screen. Meanwhile, San Diego State runs a pattern- or zone-match defense, which essentially turns into man coverage for the outside cornerback on the wide side of the field since the receiver’s route is over 10 yards.
With the two slot defenders bracketing the slot receiver, Johnson is one-on-one with no safety help. He does a good job of maintaining outside leverage when the receiver stems the route inside, putting him in a position to stay in phase when the wideout breaks toward the sideline. Since the slot receiver is double-covered and the pass-rush is coming, the quarterback still tries to hit the out route, which is a bad idea because Johnson reads the throw and steps in front of the receiver to come up with the interception.
This can be seen from the end zone view; notice how the corner uses some physicality to beat the receiver to the ball. The contact isn’t significant enough to draw a pass interference penalty, but it is enough to put himself in a position to come away with the interception. That shows an aggressive mindset and a “my ball” mentality for the makings of a true ballhawk.
Chris Johnson 1on1 with no safety help, rips the ball out at the catch point for another INT #NFLDraft2026 pic.twitter.com/OnOx5AN6xS
Speaking of the aggressive “my ball” mentality, this next rep is an even better example.
While the Aztecs are in Cover 3, they’re clearly worried about the slot receiver on the wide side of the field beating them, bracketing him with the free safety and nickelback. That leaves the boundary corner, Johnson, one-on-one with no help over the top.
With that type of coverage, Johnson has to give the offense something, or he’ll end up covering nothing. To be in a position to drive on a short route and make a tackle to set up third down rather than giving up an easy conversion, he doesn’t get any deeper than 10 yards until the receiver forces him to turn and run. The downside is that he has to play from a trail position against the go route.
As a result, the receiver gets a step on Johnson. But the latter doesn’t panic and stays within arm’s length of his man throughout the rep. Also, he doesn’t try to locate the ball in the air until he’s back in phase with the receiver, as turning his head would slow him down and make the problem worse. So, with a slightly underthrown pass, the corner is in a great spot to make a play at the catchpoint, ripping the ball away for another pick.