The Dolphins selected San Diego State cornerback Chris Johnson with the 27th pick of the 2026 NFL Draft.
New General Manager Jon-Eric Sullivan executed his second trade in as many picks by moving from the 30th slot up to 27 in a deal with the San Francisco 49ers. The compensation was a pick swap as the 49ers received the 90th pick and sent the 138th selection back to the Dolphins – a small price to pay to secure a potential lockdown No. 1 cornerback.
1. Filling up the box score
It's difficult to find subpar tape on Johnson as he was one of the most productive cornerbacks in college football over the last two seasons. As a senior, he intercepted four passes, returning two for touchdowns, giving him 146 interception return yards, the most in the NCAA. In his career, he played 47 games, picked off six passes, notched 20 passes defensed, five forced fumbles, 152 tackles, 3.5 tackles for a loss and a sack.
According to Pro Football Focus, Johnson didn't allow a touchdown in coverage this season. On 870 career snaps in coverage, he allowed just two touchdowns producing a passer-rating-against of just 65.4. When quarterbacks targeted Chris Johnson in 2025, they posted a passer rating of 16.1.
2. Smooth moving scheme fit
With a relatively athletic score of 9.82, Johnson ranks 52nd all time among 2,822 cornerbacks to test at the NFL Scouting Combine. His 17 bench press reps, 38-inch vertical, 10-foot-6 broad jump, 4.4 forty-yard dash and 4.12 shuttle time all ranked in the 85th percentile or higher for cornerbacks.
Those movement skills are all over Johnson's tape.
"He's got great feet, great balance and body control," Sullivan said. "He's physical. He's a big corner. He can play nickel, play outside corner. He's got ball skills. I mean when you start checking the boxes for a defensive back, there weren't really many left – there were none, really. He'll tackle, again he's physical."
On top of being arguably the smoothest athlete at the position in the class, Johnson is an A-plus student. His eyes take him to the football as he diagnoses route concepts, keys the quarterback, and makes his breaks with conviction. He was a standout at the Senior Bowl when he stepped up in competition and showed that his performance was not a product of playing in the Mountain West.
Johnson also offers critical versatility. NFL defenses live in the nickel package with five defensive backs on the field, and Johnson's ability to play on the perimeter, or kick inside, allows Head Coach Jeff Hafley to get creative with his disguises and personnel groupings.
"I think it was the versatility and I think it was the upside," Sullivan said. "We feel like he's really gifted. He's young, like I said he's 21. We feel like he can play really – he'll play nickel or he'll play corner, but we also feel like depending on how this thing goes, he could go back there and play safety as well because the ball skills and the instincts. I don't think we'd end up doing that. He's going to play at corner, play nickel. We had a lot of conviction on him."
3. Model citizen
"I'm running out of reasons why this guy's not going to hit and be a good pro. Just a smooth player…I'm just a big fan of Chris Johnson."
That was The Athletic's Dane Brugler discussing Johnson as a first-round projection and the potential second cornerback off the board, which is exactly where Johnson went. Brugler's draft guide, 'The Beast,' described the type of character the Dolphins are getting.
"His 'give a s–' factor is to the moon…leader of the DB room…likeable kid – his parents did an amazing job," said one NFL scout Brugler spoke to.
Sullivan echoed those comments on the background check of Johnson.
"The coaches at San Diego State couldn't have said better things about him," Sullivan said. "His care factor is high; he was a team captain there. He's a leader, he works. The intangibles, along with the athletic traits, along with the fact that he's a good football player, lead to the conviction of why we do what we did. I told you guys from the jump, it's important that we had the right kind of people here."
4. Two phase player
Johnson logged 687 career snaps on special teams for the Aztecs. He played 393 of those snaps his first two years on campus when he wasn't starting at corner. Once he earned a job with the first team defense, his work in the kicking game was elevated as he registered a career-high 211 snaps in the kicking game. He made 16 combined tackles on special teams in college and added a blocked punt.
For more on the Dolphins 2026 NFL Draft selections, download the Drive Time Podcast with Travis Wingfield, available wherever you get your podcasts.
