Keenan Allen is gone. Mike Williams is gone. And the focus shifts to Quentin Johnston. It sure would be nice for the Chargers if he emerges as a viable receiver.
The first-year production was underwhelming. He had plenty of opportunities to contribute and didn’t do much with them. He caught only 38 of the 67 passes thrown his way, with 2 TDs. There was a big drop late at Green Bay that salted away a loss.
Making things more painful, when the Chargers selected him with the 21st pick, there were other options available. The next two picks were also wide receivers, and both had great rookie seasons – Zay Flowers and Jordan Addison. Rashee Rice and Jayden Reed were both chosen in the second round.
Jim Harbaugh is familiar with Johnston. Johnston’s most notable game came when he led Texas Christian to a win over Michigan in a national semifinal game a year ago. Johnston caught 6 passes for 163 yards in that game, including a crossing route that turned into a long touchdown. No doubt they’ll be giving him every opportunity to turn things around.
While Johnston at this point doesn’t look particularly compelling, it’s not unusual for receivers to ignite after a year or two.
Below see the list of the 29 wide receivers in the 32-team era who’ve put up rookie numbers comparable to Johnston. These are all players who finished within 10 points of Johnston (using PPR scoring). None of these receivers was a huge star in their second season, but six finished between 17th and 26th in production. I’ve got those guys tagged with black dots.
Another four put up top-40 numbers. Another four put up good numbers later in their career (Davante Adams and Roddy White moved up to the elite level, while Sidney Rice and DeVante Parker had some success.
I’m not a big Johnston fan. I don’t expect I’ll be considering to draft him in any leagues this year. But the possibility can’t be ignored.
In the chart, I stuck with players selected in the first three rounds. That allowed me to avoid listing the likes of Trent Taylor, Brandon Coleman and Malcolm Mitchell (who didn’t even play in his second year). But Romeo Doubs and Rashid Shaheed, who both came in around 40th in their second season, also got trimmed.
| SLOW-STARTING ROOKIE RECEIVERS | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | No | Yds | TD | PPR | Next Yr | Rk |
| 2002 | Deion Branch, N.E. | 43 | 489 | 2 | 103.9 | 57-803-3 | 36 |
| 2002 | Ashley Lelie, Den. | 35 | 525 | 2 | 103.5 | 37-628-2 | 56 |
| 2021 | Rashod Bateman, Balt. | 46 | 515 | 1 | 103.5 | 15-285-2 | 111 |
| 2018 | Dante Pettis, S.F. | 27 | 467 | 5 | 103.5 | 11-109-2 | 133 |
| 2002 | Jabar Gaffney, Hou. | 41 | 483 | 1 | 103.3 | 34-402-2 | 79 |
| 2005 | • Braylon Edwards, Cle. | 32 | 512 | 3 | 101.2 | 61-884-6 | 26 |
| 2018 | TreQuan Smith, N.O. | 28 | 427 | 5 | 100.7 | 18-234-5 | 91 |
| 2014 | Davante Adams, G.B. | 38 | 446 | 3 | 100.6 | 50-483-1 | 69 |
| 2002 | Josh Reed, Buff. | 37 | 509 | 2 | 99.9 | 58-588-2 | 44 |
| 2007 | Sidney Rice, Min. | 31 | 396 | 4 | 99.3 | 15-141-4 | 94 |
| 2020 | • Michael Pittman, Ind. | 40 | 503 | 1 | 98.9 | 88-1082-6 | 18 |
| 2018 | • Michael Gallup, Dall. | 33 | 507 | 2 | 97.7 | 66-1107-6 | 24 |
| 2010 | Brandon LaFell, Car. | 38 | 468 | 1 | 96.8 | 36-613-3 | 60 |
| 2014 | Donte Moncrief, Ind. | 32 | 444 | 3 | 96.1 | 64-733-6 | 37 |
| 2017 | • Kenny Golladay, Det. | 28 | 477 | 3 | 94.6 | 70-1063-5 | 22 |
| 2007 | Ted Ginn, Mia. | 34 | 420 | 2 | 94.3 | 56-790-2 | 33 |
| 2022 | Treylon Burks, Ten. | 33 | 444 | 1 | 94.1 | 16-221-0 | 124 |
| 2023 | Quentin Johnston, LAC | 38 | 431 | 2 | 94.0 | ?-?-? | ? |
| 2015 | DeVante Parker, Mia. | 26 | 494 | 3 | 93.4 | 56-744-4 | 50 |
| 2016 | Corey Coleman, Cle. | 33 | 413 | 3 | 93.3 | 23-305-2 | 92 |
| 2021 | Josh Palmer, LAC | 33 | 353 | 4 | 92.9 | 72-769-3 | 37 |
| 2005 | Roddy White, Atl. | 29 | 446 | 3 | 92.8 | 30-506-0 | 78 |
| 2017 | • Chris Godwin, T.B. | 34 | 525 | 1 | 92.5 | 59-842-7 | 25 |
| 2020 | KJ Hamler, Den. | 30 | 381 | 3 | 90.1 | 5-74-0 | 174 |
| 2020 | Henry Ruggs, L.V. | 26 | 452 | 2 | 88.1 | 24-469-2 | 86 |
| 2020 | Jalen Reagor, Phil. | 31 | 396 | 1 | 87.2 | 33-299-2 | 96 |
| 2007 | Laurent Robinson, Atl. | 37 | 437 | 1 | 86.7 | 5-52-0 | 149 |
| 2003 | • Nate Burleson, Min. | 29 | 455 | 2 | 86.5 | 68-1006-9 | 17 |
| 2014 | Marqise Lee, Jac. | 37 | 422 | 1 | 86.1 | 15-191-1 | 118 |
| 2003 | Bryant Johnson, Ari. | 35 | 438 | 1 | 84.8 | 49-537-1 | 59 |
| 2023 | Jonathan Mingo, Car. | 43 | 418 | 0 | 84.8 | ?-?-? | ? |
—Ian Allan