Dolphins draft SDSU CB Chris Johnson with No. 27 pick in 2026 NFL Draft
The Miami Dolphins picked San Diego State cornerback Chris Johnson with the 27th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
This comes after the Dolphins traded the No. 30 and No. 90 pick to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for No. 27 and No. 138.
With the Dolphins going offense for their No. 12 selection, they opted to address the other side of the ball. This pick has an added level of significance considering that Jeff Hafley got his start defensive start coaching the secondary.
“I’m a polished player,” Johnson, 21, recalled Hafley telling him. “I excel in different areas.”
A scheme-versatile cornerback who most recently earned second-team Associated Press All-American as well as Mountain West Co-Defensive Player of the Year honors, he finished his senior season with four picks, two of which he returned for touchdown, nine pass breakups and a forced fumble. He has adequate size — 6-foot-and-3/8 inches and 193 pounds — that could serve him well on the outside but could slide to nickel if there’s a need.
“The versatility and the upside,” general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan said when asked why he decided to trade up. “He’s really gifted. He’s 21. We feel like he can play nickel, he can play [outside] corner and, depending on how this thing goes, he could go back there and play safety.”
With his disciplined footwork and willingness to step up in the run game, Johnson will potentially challenge for starting spot on the outside in Week 1.
“He has great feet, great balance and body control,” Sullivan said of Johnson. “He’s physical. He’s a big corner. He can play nickel. He can play outside corner. He’s got ball skills.
“When you start checking the boxes for a defensive back, there were none left,” Sullivan continued.
Sullivan’s analysis fit right in with how Hafley evaluates cornerbacks. The former secondary coach has three areas of focus — line of scrimmage play, handle on intermediate routes and downfield expertise — and Johnson believes he checks all those boxes.
“I feel like I’m sound at all three,” Johnson said, later adding that the biggest point is “understanding if you lose phase one and two, phase three is where the money comes.”
More than that, Sullivan raved about the “edge” that’s seen throughout Johnson’s tape. At a time when the Dolphins are in the midst of a culture change, one where Miami wants to clearly get tougher, the front office believes that Johnson can come in and help further build that out.
“He’s about the right stuff,” Sullivan said. “He’s the kind of guy that we want to infuse into this locker room.”
Added Johnson: “My edge is just nonstop relentlessness. That’s just the culture that I’ve built during my four years at San Diego State. Effort gone outlast skill every time.”
This story was originally published April 23, 2026 at 10:47 PM.
