Kayli Johnson, Will Johnson’s sister, was proud after her brother obtained his NFL ambition. The Arizona Cardinals selected the cornerback with the 47th pick in the 2025 NFL draft. Johnson fell out of expectations from being a probable first-rounder to Day 2 due to alleged knee injury reports.
On Wednesday, Kayli expressed her heartfelt feelings in an Instagram post that included a picture of the siblings together.
“Will, my brother. My best friend,” Kayli wrote. “Watching you live out your dream has been one of the most powerful, emotional moments of my life. You’ve worked for this with everything in you. The early mornings, late nights, sacrifices most people will never see. But I’ve seen them all. You deserve every bit of this. I’ll be rooting for you forever—always with full heart, full tears, and so much love. Your story will be legendary.”
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This wasn’t the first time Kayli expressed her support. On draft day, she responded to her brother’s draft with an energetic post on Instagram. She reposted Michigan’s post with the caption,
“Letsss gooo❤️❤️❤️❤️.”
Will Johnson struggles through injury issues to achieve his NFL dream
Will Johnson’s value reportedly dropped because of injury issues that arose before the draft, pushing him out of the first round.
Once chosen, Will Johnson confronted these issues head-on:
“They were saying things about my knee and all that, and I haven’t really dealt with it in two years, so that’s definitely frustrating, but it’s all good,” Johnson told SI following his selection. “I’m at where I’m supposed to be, and I’m just happy to be a Cardinal now. I know I’m healthy.”
The former Wolverine dealt with several health issues throughout his college career. Johnson played six games in the 2024 season at Michigan after he got hurt against Minnesota with a shoulder injury.
At the NFL combine, he said that he “tore some ligaments” in attempting to rehab what was originally reported as a turf toe injury.
His 2023 year also began with him sitting out almost the entire non-conference part as he rehabbed from an offseason arthroscopic knee procedure. Compounding his struggles, Johnson suffered a hamstring injury before the combine, which led to him sitting out that as well as Michigan’s pro day.
Despite those setbacks, Johnson’s college career was still impressive. The 6-foot-2, 202-pound cornerback had 68 tackles (four for loss) and nine interceptions in his Michigan career. His skills made him a PFF All-American freshman year, first-team All-American in 2023 and second-team in 2024.
Deon, his father, was a defensive back at Michigan from 1990-1994 and helped the Wolverines to three Big Ten championships. His sister, Kayli, is the director of on-campus recruiting for the team.
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Edited by Ribin Peter
