Getty TCU's Quentin Johnston runs while playing against Michigan in 2022.
Offensively, the Detroit Lions don’t seem to have too many weaknesses heading toward the 2023 season, but that doesn’t stop some folks from daydreaming about weaponry coming to the team.
Wide receiver would seemingly be low on the list of needs after the team produced a phenomenal season from the position. Even though that is the case, the mock draft community has already showed off an interesting potential pick for Detroit.
Bleacher Report’s scouting department recently produced a post-Super Bowl mock draft. Within, they had multiple quarterbacks and defenders going within the top five. When pick six hit, that’s where a curveball came the Lions’ way.
The selection for Detroit? Wide receiver Quentin Johnston of TCU, an explosive player that has yet to rise up draft boards substantially. Still, the Bleacher Report team including Derrik Klassen opined that he could fit in as an ideal addition for a Detroit roster that could soon be in need.
“Johnston is a seamless replacement for DJ Chark, who is a free agent this offseason. Johnston does his best work stretching the field on go balls, post routes or deep crossing patterns. If Johnston gets to stride out in space, he’s going to have his way and give his quarterbacks chances for explosive plays down the field. The two-time, first-team All-Big 12 selection is also wicked with the ball in his hands, thanks to easy change of direction skills and threatening top speed,” Klassen said in the piece.
In spite of that, Klassen did admit to the pick of Johnston at six perhaps being “too high,” despite the team needing a wideout with his skill level and abilities.
Further down the board with Detroit’s 18th pick, the mock went more conventional, sending the Lions a cornerback. The player itself was a bit unconventional, however. Detroit’s selection in the mock was Utah’s Clark Phillips III, who had nine interceptions and four touchdowns in three years for the Utes.
Before that pick, though, is Johnston really a player worthy of a top 10 selection? If that ends up not being the case, it could be a risky selection given Detroit’s substantial needs on defense. The pre-draft evaluation process will sort out where Johnston ranks in due time, but for now, this mock draft sees him as a potential top pick.
The Lions are fresh off selecting wideout Jameson Williams with the 12th overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft. It remains to be seen whether they would elect to remake their wideout core completely with this kind of bold move.
Johnston’s College Stats & Highlights
There’s no questioning the talent of Johnston given what he has been able to do during his career with the Horned Frogs as the team’s most explosive offensive weapon.
Coming into the 2022 season, In just two seasons of work, Johnson had put up 1,121 yards and eight touchdowns to his credit at wideout. He also had collected a pair of rushing touchdowns in his career, showing his overall ability to be an exciting piece for an offense.
Things only got better once the new season came around for Johnston. With TCU, he put up 1,069 yards and six touchdowns on 60 receptions. It was a career year when Johnston needed one the most.
The highlights do show a player who can make the big play as well as show himself as a fluid speedy runner and athlete. Here’s a look at what Johnson has done so far while on the field in the Big 12:
Johnston would certainly offer a rising Lions offense another player capable of hitting a home run, and could help the team become one of the more dangerous offenses in the league.
Lions Have Decision to Make With DJ Chark
Perhaps the biggest variable that will determine whether or not the Lions are active in the draft market for a wideout early will revolve around what happens in free agency.
In spite of some reservations otherwise, the Lions may have to consider sticking with veteran DJ Chark given his potential desire to stay. The biggest question Brad Holmes will have to answer regarding the wideout this offseason revolves around who the real Chark is outside of the statistics.
Is Chark the injury-prone receiver who started the season by dropping a few passes, then getting dinged up and having to be shelved again, or is he the guy who has surged down the stretch and looked like a major piece within Detroit’s offense?
Already, many have speculated that Chark will have to find a new home this coming season, because the Lions may want to move on and find another player to sign that could be cheaper.
When he is on, Chark seems like an easy 80-100 yard pass catcher most weeks. That’s big production for a Detroit offense that needed some of the deep ball jolts Chark was able to provide the team. After he came back midseason off injury, there was a noticeable uptick in the number of big pass plays Detroit’s offense generated.
Still, if the Lions could nab a player like Johnston who was a rookie to give them some of the same production Chark did for cheaper, it could have to be considered a winning scenario for the team.
Is Johnston a player that could be on the radar for Detroit outside this mock? That will shake itself out in due time. For now, it’s just one of many potentially intriguing options the team will have.