The Las Vegas Raiders have a need at cornerback opposite Eric Stokes, and Chris Johnson could be a good fit.
The Las Vegas Raiders have been getting plenty of attention regarding their draft plans, but most of the focus has been on taking quarterback Fernando Mendoza and possibly doing a reworked version of the Maxx Crosby trade to get more draft capital. There are also dozens of mock drafts floating around, but the vast majority of those are mostly meaningless at this point.
But Connor Byrne of Pro FootballRumors.com narrowed his focus by focusing on the second round for the Raiders, and he explored some options that are well worth mentioning and considering, so let’s go there.
The latest reports have the Raiders meeting with cornerback Chris Johnson, who’s one of those late bloomers who go shooting up the boards of many teams in the final days before the draft, with the Raiders’ visit reported by Tony Pauline of Essentially Sports. According to draft expert Dane Brugler, Johnson is ranked 24th in this draft class, although Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com has him at 40th.
Johnson was the Defensive Player of the Year in the Mountain West for San Diego State last year, so he’s got some bona fides as a top college corner. He picked off four passes in 2025, and he’d be a fit for the Raiders opposite cornerback Eric Stokes, who played well last season on a low-cost “prove it” contract and was re-signed during the offseason.
The Raiders also have Darien Porter as their other top boundary corner. Porter was selected in the third round last year, but he didn’t stand out last season given the defensive chaos that was part of the Raiders basic definition. The Raiders also added slot corner Taron Johnson in a trade with the Buffalo Bills last month, so that’s how the competition lines up.
The big question for a player like Johnson would be the step up. The Mountain West doesn’t exactly feature an array of top receivers, so he’ll be seeing a lot of receivers with skill sets he hasn’t encountered yet.
The Raiders also have some other options in the second round, according to Byrne. He identified receiver Germie Bernard of Alabama as a “realistic option,” although the Raiders have multiple young receivers who underperformed last year.
Offensive tackle is yet another possibility for Las Vegas in the second round. Left tackle Kolton Miller will be returning from a serious leg issue, but DJ Glaze could be targeted with a possible replacement. He made 17 starts for the first time in his career, but Glaze was also rated 60th out of 78 tackles by Pro Football Focus.