Before he became an NFL prospect, before he became a Mountain West defensive player of the year, even before he became a starting cornerback at San Diego State, Chris Johnson set the stage for success by making the most of his situation.
It was 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic had forced everyone into isolation, but Johnson wasn’t going to sit by and do nothing during his junior of high school.
“My buddies and I would just lift weights and hit the field,” said Johnson, who is among the college players invited to this week’s NFL combine. “There was nothing else to do. We didn’t have school. As far as being contaminated, we were always around each other, so we just figured we’d stay together and be fine.”
They were more than fine. They thrived while others struggled during the shutdown.
Johnson only played five games that year at Eastvale’s Eleanor Roosevelt High School, about 90 minutes north of San Diego, but he said it was a turning point in his athletic career.
A great deal of time was devoted to getting physically and mentally stronger and sharpening his focus. It prepared Johnson well during a steady progression at SDSU, where he developed from a freshman backup to a “shutdown corner” as a senior this past season.
SDSU coaches saw it coming after a breakthrough junior year in 2024. Johnson’s performance gave him an opportunity to go elsewhere, potentially lured to a Power Four school for substantially more money than the Aztecs could provide.
San Diego State cornerback Chris Johnson returned two interceptions for touchdowns during the 2025 season. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
He decided to remain rather look for greener grass. Johnson’s staying put is credited with being the reason most of SDSU’s top defenders hung around to turn around 2024’s 3-9 record to 2025’s 9-4 mark.
“It definitely got my attention,” said Johnson, who had schools reach out to him from back channels last year in an effort to transfer. “I just had to take a moment, visualize what I really wanted to do, and that was go to the NFL. I knew, for one thing, to go to the NFL, I have to play. I didn’t want to go anywhere else and risk something happening. Politics, or get injured. You never know.”
Johnson knew he would be a defensive standout for the Aztecs.
“I just weighed in the fact,” Johnson said, “that a little money now, is going to be nothing compared to NFL money when I’m touching that.”
This week at the NFL combine is crucial in that regard. Johnson is participating Friday with defensive backs and tight ends (noon-5 p.m., NFL Network).
Multiple mock drafts have projected the 6-foot, 195-pound Johnson to go in the top half of the second round of the 2026 NFL draft. This is an opportunity to improve his standing.
“Johnson’s tape from last season is as clean as it gets,” Union-Tribune draft guru Eddie Brown said. “Even when he gets bodied by a bigger receiver in coverage or in the run game, he’s quick to recover.
“He’s already got the headline hardware and ball production. I anticipate he will do well in interviews. Group of Five stars face the same two questions every year: Was the production driven by the level of competition? Will his game translate to Sundays?”
Johnson can maintain top-50 consideration, Brown said, if his measurements are accurate, his 40 time is in the 4.5 range and his agility drills compare favorably with his film.
“Easy hips, sudden stops, no false steps,” Brown said. “His best chance at sneaking into the back end of the first round is he lands on the plus side of that 4.5 baseline (and pairs with clean splits). It will reinforce his ball production wasn’t just film study, that he also has NFL-caliber movement skills.”
Brown said there are a number of teams toward the end of the first round and the top of the second round who need cornerbacks.
SDSU has not had a player selected in the NFL draft the past three years. That’s the first time that has happened in more than 60 years (1960-62). In 2022, defensive end Cameron Thomas (Cardinals) was a third-round selection and tight end Daniel Bellinger (Giants) was a fourth-round pick while punter Matt Araiza (Bills) and offensive tackle Zach Thomas (Bears) went in the sixth round.
The last Aztecs player taken in the top two rounds was running back Rashaad Penny, who was Seattle’s first-round pick in the 2018.