Friend of the blog Tony Pauline today speculated the following relating to the Seahawks having interest in San Diego State cornerback Chris Johnson:
Seattle is a team to keep an eye on. Johnson fits the prototype they like at cornerback, they need young players at the position, and I’m told they have him rated higher than Brandon Cisse of South Carolina. It’s not out of the question that Seattle uses their pick in round one, the final one of the frame, on Johnson.
Within the Seahawks community I’ve noticed people getting a bit sniffy about Tony over the years. It’s after he suggested the Seahawks would draft Trevor Penning and Desmond Ridder ahead of the 2022 draft.
I appreciate his suggestion was a.) very wrong and b.) a bit too matter of fact. Saying there was chatter among sources that it was a possibility would’ve been more appropriate.
I’ll say this though. A considerable time before the 2015 draft, Tony stated on several occasions the Seahawks really liked San Diego State guard Terry Poole — a player hardly on anyone’s radar. It was a very random connection.
The Seahawks selected him in round four.
Tony does have sources in the league. Not everything he hears will come true — but I can vouch that a lot of what he has predicted over the years has been accurate. I think as long as you’re prepared to not take the reporting, or yourself, too seriously — Tony’s speculative posts can be highly entertaining. You might say I’m just sticking up for a friend. Well, I am. Sue me. I respect Tony immensely as a person, he’s always been really good to me and he lives and breathes the draft.
On Johnson, I can completely see there being something in this.
In terms of his personality he’s exactly the type of person the Seahawks like. He’s intelligent and can speak to what he’s doing/thinking on the field. The way he excels in zone suggests a strong football IQ too. He’s mature, grounded, has zero character concerns and stuck at San Diego State for four years rather than transferring.
There’s a good chance he’s been given the highest possible grade for ‘team fit’.
At the combine he ran a 4.40 which was faster than expected. He also jumped a 38-inch vertical and a 10-6 broad.
There had been some first round buzz during the college season. Johnson didn’t have a great Senior Bowl week though which iced some of his momentum. Running as fast as he did was a plus.
On my board I have him down as a fringe second rounder who would be a reasonable value pick at #64. That obviously is a lot different than the prospect of them taking him at #32. However, there are a few things to consider.
I get the sense John Schneider isn’t crazy about the 2026 draft class. Actually, I think he probably thinks it stinks. My Horizontal Board is pretty thin on top-end talent. Schneider’s grading could be even harsher. If the coaches like some of Johnson’s zone coverage abilities, appreciate the athletic testing and perhaps consider him the best possible ‘if we need to take someone, he’s the guy’ pick — it’s plausible it could happen.
When I watched his tape the thing that stood out to me was a lack of suddenness. I wrote down ‘testing is key’. Well, he answered some of those concerns with a 4.40. But on tape he did not look like a twitched up defender.
He does give up a large cushion at times and I wonder if he’ll get away with playing in a similar fashion at the next level. He still lets receivers get in behind him too often. Does everything have to be in front of him? That’s my worry. Does he need that big old cushion to avoid getting beat deep? If you close that gap in the NFL is he going to get torched?
He doesn’t look the biggest (6-0, 193lbs) but he has nearly 10-inch hands.
That said, he showed a high level of football intelligence and is capable of playing coverage while keeping his eyes fixed on the quarterback. He times his contact well when playing off and reading/reacting. He’s barely ever too early on contact and was only flagged four times in his last two seasons at SDSU.
If players do get in behind him he has shown a high level of recovery speed which is important. His missed tackle percentage (5.6%) is extremely low for a cornerback. He’s physical and tough.
He had a 91.9 grade in zone coverage in 2025, tops among all players eligible for the draft this year. That’s important to note given the Seahawks use zone about 77.5% of the time.
I think he has ‘solid’ potential. He might develop into a very reasonable player and perhaps he falls into the ‘hitting a double’ rather than a ‘home run’ category, within a draft full of big question marks.
I can see them being high on him, just as I can see some other teams feeling he is very much a day two player. The testing helps reassure the teams who do really like his tape that there’s a level of athletic upside that warrants going with him earlier than some are currently suggesting.
He will be a name to watch.
A quick thought on where the Seahawks are at in free agency
I think, for now, they’re pretty much done.
Any outside additions will begin to eliminate the comp picks they have collected (four) for 2027. It’s going to be a much deeper draft compared to this season due to the sheer number of players who chose not to declare. I had to remove 41 graded players from my Horizontal Board. All will now be part of the 2027 crop.
They don’t have a ton of holes. They can draft replacements for Riq Woolen, Boye Mafe and Ken Walker. Coby Bryant’s replacement is already on the roster.
They will always be opportunistic but it’s remarkable this year how quickly so many free agents have been signed. It feels like we’ve bypassed the first two waves already and the new league year only started today.
My prediction is that they now wait until after the draft. Then they’ll check in on the Brian Robinson’s and Von Miller’s, depending what happens with their rookie class. The only thing that changes that is an unexpected opportunity — but I’m struggling to think what that is. Meanwhile, I get the impression Maxx Crosby might end up staying in Vegas.
It could be quite dull for a while now.
