Los Angeles Chargers WR Quentin Johnston Continues To Struggle At Training Camp, More Drops

The Los Angeles Chargers surprised most of the NFL world, and especially Bolt Fans when they decided to select WR Quentin Johnston in the 2023 NFL Draft ahead of Zay Flowers and Jordan Addison .

Johnston had a nice career at TCU and had more physical tools than both Flowers and Addison, but the latter two were seen as more polished and with fewer flaws.

All of that wouldn’t have mattered if Johnston went out in his rookie year and performed. Unfortunately, that was not the case.

In many games throughout the 2023 season, he was pretty much a non-factor in the game plan and was used sparingly. When he was on the field, and actually targeted, he suffered from some critical drops, one in particular that probably cost the Chargers a win.

Related: Jim Harbaugh Compares Returning To Training Camp To ‘Coming Out Of A Womb’

Not every rookie develops at the same pace, especially at the wide receiver position. While many of his rookie peers had moments of glory, the hope throughout the offseason has been that with a new coaching regime, Johnston would get a fresh start. A bit of a restart, similar to what the organization as a whole is getting. Almost treat 2024 like a rookie season and then see what the Chargers really have in Year 3.

We are not even a full week into training camp, so things certainly have plenty of time to improve, but thus far, it has been much of the same for Quentin Johnston.

It’s challenging to be a dominant receiver in the NFL , let alone make a roster if you can’t catch the football.

Los Angeles Chargers WR Quentin Johnston Struggles

In 2023, Johnston only actually registered 3 drops , which was tied with Jordan Addison, one less than Zay Flowers, seven less than Jaxon Smith-Njigba , and 10 less than Puka Nacua (led all WRs in drops in 2023). The problem is that not only were Johnston’s drops at very critical moments in games, but also his target share was so much lower than the rookie receivers listed above, so it felt much more compounded and problematic.

Addison saw 108 targets, Flowers had 108 targets, Smith-Njigba had 93 targets, and Nacua had an astounding 160 targets. Johnston saw 67 targets, with only 38 receptions.

There is still plenty of time for QJ to get it right, and become a valuable piece of this offense, but it certainly is a bit concerning how shaky his camp has started out.

More must-reads:

• Chargers Training Camp Day 2 Recap | Healthy JK Dobbins, Medieval Offense With Greg Roman
• 4 Bold Predictions for Chargers Training Camp