Chargers GM Joe Hortiz said he believes Johnston is "really going to launch" as a starter during the 2024 season, Kevin Patra of NFL.com reports. Horitz mentioned that in his time as director of player personnel with Baltimore last season that Johnston "was a player we liked," and he praised the 2023 first-round pick's work ethic this offseason while acknowledging "some rawness to his game" as a rookie. Johnston finished with a subpar 431 yards last season despite suiting up for all 17 games, but with Keenan Allen and Mike Williams (knee) no longer in the picture for Los Angeles, he has a clear path to a starting role alongside incumbent Joshua Palmer, while being joined by DJ Chark and rookie second-rounder Ladd McConkey. New coach Jim Harbaugh and OC Greg Roman could spark life to the Chargers' offense, though the new scheme projects as a run-heavy approach. Still, Johnston will have every opportunity to establish himself atop this depth chart, despite his uninspiring rookie production. He'll need to make some strides this offseason toward more consistently gaining separation, not to mention cleaning up issues with drops.
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Chargers GM Joe Hortiz said he believes Johnston is "really going to launch" as a starter during the 2024 season, Kevin Patra of NFL.com reports. Horitz mentioned that in his time as director of player personnel with Baltimore last season that Johnston "was a player we liked," and he praised the 2023 first-round pick's work ethic this offseason while acknowledging "some rawness to his game" as a rookie. Johnston finished with a subpar 431 yards last season despite suiting up for all 17 games, but with Keenan Allen and Mike Williams (knee) no longer in the picture for Los Angeles, he has a clear path to a starting role alongside incumbent Joshua Palmer, while being joined by DJ Chark and rookie second-rounder Ladd McConkey. New coach Jim Harbaugh and OC Greg Roman could spark life to the Chargers' offense, though the new scheme projects as a run-heavy approach. Still, Johnston will have every opportunity to establish himself atop this depth chart, despite his uninspiring rookie production. He'll need to make some strides this offseason toward more consistently gaining separation, not to mention cleaning up issues with drops.
Johnston and Joshua Palmer (knee) are the top wide receivers left on the Chargers after the team released Mike Williams (knee) and traded Keenan Allen to Chicago. The 2023 first-round pick should have every chance to earn a starting job even if the Chargers end up bringing in another wide receiver via an early pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. The lack of target competition is promising for fantasy purposes, while Johnston's rookie-year performance and new coaching staff are considerably less promising. Jim Harbaugh and OC Greg Roman are known for prioritizing the running game, and the team's willingness to move on from both Allen and Williams further hint at that being the plan in Los Angeles despite having QB Justin Herbert under contract long term. Johnston said earlier this offseason that he expects a "breakout" under Harbaugh, after managing just 431 yards in 17 games as a rookie.
The extent of Johnston's participation remains to be seen, but his presence at practice Wednesday bodes well for his availability this weekend against the Patriots after he sat out most of the second half of Sunday's 20-10 loss to the Ravens. Johnston caught one of three targets for seven yards prior to hurting his ribs. The rookie wide receiver was medically cleared to return, so it's possible his inability to return to the game was at least in part performance-based.
Johnston didn't see the field after injuring his ribs in the third quarter of Sunday's loss to the Ravens. Afterward, coach Brandon Staley told Jeff Miller of the Los Angeles Times that "it wasn't that [Johnston] couldn't go back in the game. We just didn't feel like... it was the right thing to go back in the game." The reason for Johnston's lack of late-game reps thus was precautionary, but Staley also relayed to Miller on Monday that the wide receiver wasn't 100 percent. There's an expectation that Johnson will take part in practice this week, but the Chargers won't get back on the field until Wednesday, at the earliest, ahead of Sunday's contest at New England.
Johnston exited Sunday's loss in the third quarter due to a rib injury and didn't retake the field, though coach Brandon Staley said after the game that the rookie first-round pick was medically cleared. "It wasn't that [Johnston] couldn't go back in the game," Staley told Jeff Miller of the Los Angeles Times. "We just didn't feel like... it was the right thing to go back in the game." Johnston also had a crucial drop on the final drive of Los Angeles' loss to the Packers in Week 11, and he may not have much more leeway for error before running the risk of falling out of favor with his coaching staff. He faces a tough matchup against New England's secondary Week 12.
It took 10 weeks, but Johnston finally scored his first NFL touchdown thanks to a nifty designed red-zone play early in the fourth quarter. The rookie's counting stats Sunday are hardly worth applauding, but Johnston did draw two long pass interference calls, and on the first, the 22-year-old arguably should have still brought in the ball and galloped untouched for a lengthy score. While fantasy managers have to acknowledge it's a relatively low bar, this was easily Johnston's best game to date and represents a bit of hope for the weeks to come. Expect the Chargers to utilize Johnston heavily next week against the porous Packers defense.
It's hard to label a first-round pick a bust just six games into his career, but at least from a fantasy perspective there's just little optimism for Johnston at the moment. The rookie is the clear third option at wide receiver behind Keenan Allen (62 snaps) and Joshua Palmer (59 snaps), but it's the team's insistence to avoid three-wideout personnel that has hindered opportunities for Johnston to get more involved. If every there was a chance to break out, however, it could come Week 8 against a Bears defense that struggled most of the season.