Johnston secured three of six targets for 18 yards in the Chargers' 34-27 win over the Broncos on Thursday night. Johnston played a minor role as his final line implies, finishing the night with the sixth-fewest receiving yards on the Chargers. The second-year speedster had put together back-to-back five-catch, one-touchdown efforts in his previous two games, so Thursday's modest and scoreless line represented a notable downturn. Johnston will look to take advantage of the Patriots' non-Christian Gonzalez inconsistent secondary coverage during a Week 17 road matchup in New England on Saturday, Dec. 28.
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Status
ACTIVELatest Quentin Johnston news
Team
Los Angeles Chargers
Birthdate
9/6/2001 (23)
Status
Active
HT/WT
6'4", 215 lbs
Draft Info
2023: Rd 1; Pk (LAC)
Birthplace
Temple, TX, USA
Position
WR
College
TCU
Experience
2 seasons
Career History
Los Angeles Chargers
2023-Present
(2 seasons)
Johnston secured three of six targets for 18 yards in the Chargers' 34-27 win over the Broncos on Thursday night. Johnston played a minor role as his final line implies, finishing the night with the sixth-fewest receiving yards on the Chargers. The second-year speedster had put together back-to-back five-catch, one-touchdown efforts in his previous two games, so Thursday's modest and scoreless line represented a notable downturn. Johnston will look to take advantage of the Patriots' non-Christian Gonzalez inconsistent secondary coverage during a Week 17 road matchup in New England on Saturday, Dec. 28.
Johnston no longer appears on the Chargers' Week 16 injury report and should be available to play Thursday against the Broncos, Daniel Popper of The Athletic reports. The Chargers released their initial Week 16 report Monday, which listed Johnston as a non-participant due to an ankle injury. However, Popper notes that Johnston's inclusion on the report was a mistake, and the Chargers instead intended to list left guard Zion Johnson with the ankle injury. Johnston is coming off a busy outing in Sunday's 40-17 loss to the Buccaneers, as he saw a season-high 10 targets and finished with five catches for 45 yards and a touchdown.
Johnston (ankle) was listed as a non-participant on Monday's estimated practice report. The ankle injury is new for Johnston, so his practice status bears monitoring over the next couple of days ahead of Thursday night's game against the Broncos. Johnston's 73 percent snap share against the Bucs on Sunday was right in line with his norm, so it's unclear when he was injured. He finished with a 5-45-1 line on a season-high 10 targets. If Johnston were to miss Week 16, Joshua Palmer, Jalen Reagor and DJ Chark would be in line to handle outside wide receiver snaps, with rookie Ladd McConkey spending most of his time in the slot.
Johnston finished with five receptions on 10 targets for 45 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 40-17 loss to the Buccaneers. Johnston was one of the few bright spots for the Chargers in a forgettable loss, reeling in one of quarterback Justin Herbert's two touchdown passes. The 22-year-old Johnston led his squad in targets even with Ladd McConkey (knee/shoulder) back in action Sunday. Expect Johnston to remain involved as one of the Chargers' top pass catchers in Week 16 in a Thursday Night Football billing against the Broncos.
Johnston caught five of his seven targets for 48 yards and a touchdown in the 19-17 loss to the Chiefs on Sunday. Some assumed Johnston would operate as the team's top target with Ladd McConkey (shoulder/knee) sidelined, but Joshua Palmer took over as the intermediate focal point (6-9-78). Johnston still nearly saw a season high in looks (he had eight back in Week 11), which is a prominent point especially because the second-year target was still used as a deep-threat specialist. Given the litany of difficult injuries McConkey seems to be trying to gut through, Johnston and Palmer could once again see an uptick in work against a bad Tampa Bay defense next week.
Johnston caught two of his four targets for 12 yards in the 17-13 win over the Falcons on Sunday. The Chargers didn't score an offensive touchdown, instead relying on Kirk Cousins to give the game away en route to four interceptions, including one returned for a pick-six. Quarterback Justin Herbert completed just 16 passes and technically Johnston was the second-leading target with two receptions, but rookie Ladd McConkey saw an overwhelming majority of the looks with nine catches on 12 targets for 117 receiving yards. That's now three straight games the second-year wide receiver has two or fewer receptions, and it's hard to assume that'll change against a stout Chiefs defense next week.
Johnston failed to secure any of his five targets in Monday's 30-23 loss to the Ravens. After finding the end zone in three straight weeks, Johnston came crashing back down to Earth on Monday. The 23-year-old wideout struggled with drops, an issue that his plagued his young career. Additionally, his 65 percent offensive snap share is his lowest in the past four games, while rookie receiver Ladd McConkey led all Los Angeles wideouts in snaps and receiving yards against Baltimore. Johnston has proven he can have an impact for fantasy purposes in recent weeks, but his potential to be a true alpha receiver continues to be in question. The TCU product will look to bounce back when the Chargers visit the Falcons in Week 13.
Johnston caught two of his eight targets for 48 yards and a touchdown in the 34-27 win over the Bengals on Sunday. Johnston's eight targets were a season high, but the dismal completion rate mars the stat somewhat. The second-year wide tallied a touchdown in his third straight game in what amounted to yet another relatively easy pitch-and-catch touchdown, a theme of Johnston's scores for most of the season. It's possible the streak could continue against another soft defense against the pass in the Ravens come Week 12.
Johnston caught his two targets for 24 yards and a touchdown in the 27-17 win over the Chargers on Sunday. That's now five touchdowns in seven games for the second-year wide receiver after he struggled to the tune of just two touchdowns over 17 games in his rookie season. Once again Johnston was effectively left wide open on his score, but at some point flukiness can be credited more towards an offensive scheme that has allowed Johnston to be a successful depth piece for a receiving corps desperate for a big-play threat. Johnston could be poised for a bit more volume when the Chargers take on the hapless Cincinnati defense next week.