Quentin

Johnston

On one hand, Johnston did see a season-high in snaps and routes run (22), but it was Josh Palmer (56) and Keenan Allen (49) who were tops amongst Chargers receivers in snaps. Johnston drew just three targets on the day, and turned them into one catch for 18 yards. Johnston appears to be playing primarily in 11-personnel, which could result in limited usage when you consider the Chargers are running out three receivers on about 60 percent of their snaps through four weeks. Johnston is still worth stashing heading into the team’s Week 5 bye, but can’t be trusted in lineups.

Johnston gained hype this week from head coach Brandon Staley as a player to step up in the wake of Mike Williams’ torn ACL. That did not come to fruition in Week 4, with the disappointing outing falling short of the coach speak throughout the week leading up to the game. Johnston and the Chargers have additional time to address the offense moving forward with the team on bye in Week 5.

The Chargers, according to Popper, “wanted to bring [Johnston] along slowly.” “That plan is out the window” after the team lost Williams to an ACL injury he sustained in Week 3 against the Vikings. Popper expects Johnston to inherit the deep 50-50 balls Williams had seen in the LA offense. Without Williams, Popper said, teams will be more likely to double team Keenan Allen, who has a career day Sunday against Minnesota. Through Week 3, Johnston — a first-round draft pick — has run a route on just 29.8 percent of the Chargers’ drop backs and managed five receptions for 28 yards. Johnston should be picked up in all 12-team leagues as a volatile fantasy producer who will likely play behind Allen and Josh Palmer.

The worst was confirmed for Williams and the Chargers on Monday, as the star receiver will now be sidelined for the remainder of 2023 with his injury. Williams was humming to the tune of seven receptions for 121 yards and a touchdown before exiting Sunday’s game, and finishes the year with a line of 19-249-1. Williams was looking good in a revamped Chargers offense through three games, but will now have to wait until 2024 to show what he can offer in a full season in Kellen Moore’s offense. Quentin Johnston and Josh Palmer are both expected to see expanded roles with Williams now done for the season.

Johnston remained a box score nonentity, and continued to get out-snapped by Josh Palmer. The big development in the Chargers’ receiver corps, however, was Mike Williams’ knee injury. With Williams likely staring at a multi-week absence — at minimum — Johnston is suddenly the player on the spot in Los Angeles. That makes him worth a speculative add in 12-team leagues despite his highly unimpressive performance through his first three NFL contests.

Johnston’s missed connection was an end zone target, but that was the only good news on an afternoon where he was the recipient on just two of Justin Herbert’s 41 attempts. With three catches for 16 yards through the Chargers’ first two games, Johnson has proven to be pure waiver wire fodder in 12-team leagues.

Johnston was a distant afterthought in the LA offense as OC Kellen Moore called a run-heavy attack against a vulnerable Dolphins front seven. Johnston had one more target than Josh Palmer, so he has that going for him, which is nice. The rookie won’t be a reliable fantasy option until he establishes himself as an every-snap player in the Chargers offense.

Palmer, Popper said, “will get a majority of the snaps as that third receiver early in the season.” Presumably this means rookie Quentin Johnston — taken in the first round of the 2023 draft — will be relegated to a rotational role in the regular season’s early going. It’s quite the surprise, and may be related to Johnston’s immense preseason struggles. Palmer is a steady if unexciting option for LA’s offense. If he is indeed the team’s WR3, Johnston won’t be usable for fantasy managers in Week 1 against the Dolphins.

Johnston led the Chargers in receiving in a game where they threw for under 40 yards. Third-year WR Joshua Palmer has been repping in with Johnston with the first-team offense, but Johnston started all three preseason games and should have the inside track to open the year in three-wide sets. Johnston closes the preseason with an 8/62/1 line on 11 targets.

Rookie first-round pick Quentin Johnston was expected to be the third receiver alongside Keenan Allen and Mike Williams, but Palmer appears to have an inside edge on that job with just two weeks left in the offseason. Johnston has reportedly struggled with drops throughout camp and the preseason and has a 6-47-1 line through two games. It’s possible Palmer works ahead of Johnston early in the season, but we’d expect the rookie first-rounder to eventually surpass him on the depth chart.