Quentin

Johnston

Johnston spent time in the locker room having his injured right ankle examined and will surely be sore during practice this week. Johnston was visibly limping and at times skipping on his left foot after the play in an effort to reduce the pain in his right leg. He did his part despite the injury, even contributing via an end-around after halftime. Johnston is a viable flex option against the Cardinals next week.

Johnston is sporting a visible limp while playing through the issue. He could find room to run with Pat Surtain (concussion) now out but Johnston does not appear guaranteed to finish the contest.

Johnston was seen dealing with an apparent right leg issue, alternatingly skipping and limping to the locker room with the Chargers’ training staff. The injury’s severity has yet to be determined.

Johnston took a backseat to Ladd McConkey, who had eight targets and scored the Chargers’ lone touchdown. Johnston was coming off a 44-yard, one-touchdown performance against the Steelers in Week 3. No pass catcher in the ultra run-heavy LA offense will be a reliable fantasy option this season, though Johnston has as much touchdown upside as any Chargers wideout.

It wasn’t an impressive day for Johnston, who was out-targeted by Will Dissly, Simi Fehoko, and J.K. Dobbins, but the 2023 first-rounder does get to boast of having the Chargers’ lone touchdown on the afternoon. Johnston broke free down the left sideline for an easy 27-yard touchdown and has now scored three times in his last two games. Already a difficult player to trust outside of deep leagues, Johnston will be an even less attractive option in fantasy if Justin Herbert (ankle) is unable to go in Week 4 against the Chiefs.

Johnston has asserted himself as the clear WR1 in the run-first LA offense. He has seen 25 percent of the Chargers’ targets and 40 percent of the team’s air yards through Week 2, and scored two touchdowns on Sunday against the Panthers. Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh, per Popper, has encouraged Johnston to not be dragged down by the outside criticism that dogged him during his miserable rookie campaign. The Chargers have set up Johnston to use his after-the-catch ability this season. His rate of crossing routes has increased from 9.9 percent in 2023 to 19 percent in 2024, according to Popper.

The two scores doubled Johnston’s career total. He destroyed Jaycee Horn’s 1-on-1 coverage for a 29-yarder in the first quarter before the Panthers’ zone simply forgot about him on a five-yarder in the second. There wasn’t much doing for the Chargers’ passing attack beyond that as Justin Herbert needed only 20 attempts in a sleepy 26-3 victory vs. a non-competitive Panthers team. Now one of the Chargers’ top-two receiving producers in back-to-back weeks, Johnston is establishing some WR4 appeal, but Week 3 vs. Pittsburgh profiles as another low-wattage affair.

Johnston ranked second on the team in both yardage and targets behind rookie Ladd McConkey. Even so, it isn’t enough for him to carry fantasy upside in an offense that lacks a vertical component, largely content to dink-and-dunk their way to sustained drives and increased time of possession. That’s particularly troubling considering the offense managed just two first downs in the first half and went 0-for-7 on third down before the break.

Chark got plenty of run with the first-team offense in the summer and appeared to have a shot at playing ahead of former 2023 first-round pick Quentin Johnston. Despite a horrific rookie season, Johnston is now a safe bet to play in three-receiver sets to start the year. Fantasy managers can stash Johnston to see what he offers in Week 1, but he is not a viable starting option in redraft leagues.

Johnston appeared to be on the outside looking in during the early days of camp, but Fowler’s takeaway while visiting Chargers camp is that Johnston is still very much a part of their plans. We’ll see how that plays out in the coming weeks. According to Fowler, Greg Roman is hoping to manufacture opportunities for Johnston to create after the catch and that “there’s no reason to overreact” to “untimely drops in practices.” Fantasy managers interested in taking shots on Johnston can do so at little to no cost to their fantasy roster. He’s currently going outside of the top 50 receivers on most platforms but could have some low-end upside if the Chargers are able to utilize him in the way they hope.