'Best friends' and college teammates Treydan Stukes and Dalton Johnson hoping to recreate magic on the Raiders

May 04, 2026 at 03:40 PM

Digital Team Reporter

Awaiting a life-changing phone call on Day 3 of the NFL Draft, Dalton Johnson was texting back and forth with his University of Arizona teammates Treydan Stukes and Genesis Smith.

Stukes was selected by the Raiders the previous day in the second round while Smith was drafted by the Los Angeles Chargers in the fourth round. Johnson soon become the third Wildcats safety to be drafted, with Smith making quite the prediction about his landing spot.

"He said, 'Dalton to the Raiders?' in our group chat with us three," Johnson told Raiders.com.

This text came moments before General Manager John Spytek called Johnson, selecting him with the No. 150 overall pick in which they traded up to acquire from the New Orleans Saints.

"I texted the group chat and said, 'Here it comes!'" Johnson recalled. "And Stukes responded and he was like, 'Oh my gosh, no way! Are you for real?' Once I finally called them, I remember I had Stukes on the phone and we were Facetiming and he was like, 'I think this is the best day of my life.' I'm going to remember that moment forever."

"I honestly spent the whole call just screaming on the phone," Stukes said of that conversation with Johnson. "I'm just screaming, 'No way, no way.' Because I just couldn't believe it. ... The Lord works in mysterious ways, and he was working his magic on this one."

Related Links

Stukes and Johnson worked their own magic in the Wildcats secondary for five seasons as college teammates. The safety duo combined for 25 tackles for loss, 39 pass deflections and 12 interceptions in that span.

Stukes arrived to Arizona as a walk-on one year before Johnson, with the former immediately taking latter under his wing. They consider each other "best friends," and were frequently spotted next to each other on the field in rookie minicamp last weekend.

"I guess you can call him an old head leader until I filled that role with him," Johnson joked. "I would say for him personally, he does everything right. He's always on time. He has this process and he's going to take care of his business. You know, old head, once you're in the game for so long, you have your process and you know what to expect day in and day out."

How did the 24-year-old Stukes handle being called "an old head" by his best friend?

"I think when he says old head tendencies, I think he just means because I don't do anything, I just be at home and just watching tape and stuff," laughed Stukes. "So, we just found a routine that worked for us, and we found ways to keep getting better in all aspects of our game. ... It's been super good for both him and I, for sure."

welcome to the darkside @Raiders pic.twitter.com/Dhj1jksepF
— Arizona Football (@ArizonaFBall) April 25, 2026

Both said their on-field relationship became so strong at Arizona that they didn't even need to verbally speak to communicate. They could give the other a particular look or physical gesture, and they would know what the other was going to do. Johnson even said they have a secret handshake they communicate through as well.

"Once you can build that trust on and off the field and just believe in each other ... it really just made the bond real easy," Johnson said. "It's like we're [the] back of our hands to each other now. He knows where I'm going and he knows where I'm going."

Obviously the NFL is a different beast compared to their shared experiences in college. Nevertheless, the chemistry already established could play a huge role in their early development.

"[N]ow we're speaking a different language, but it's football at the end of the day," Stukes said, "and I know exactly how he operates. We've been sitting in each other's hotel rooms, going over the tape and stuff. So, we're going to get it right, and we're going to make sure that we bring our best every day."

1 / 38

Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Jacob Clark (16) at day two of 2026 Rookie Minicamp at Intermountain Health Performance Center.