Chargers WR Quentin Johnston aims for turnaround after 'unacceptable' drops in rookie season

Los Angeles Chargers first-round receiver Quentin Johnston suffered through a dreadful rookie campaign. He’s hell-bent on changing the narrative under the new regime.

Johnston caught 38 passes for 431 yards and two touchdowns in 2023. He got muscled off the spot far too often for a 6-foot-4, 215-pound wideout and suffered from a string of drops. Perhaps the most egregious flub came on a fourth-quarter third-down pass in Week 11 at Green Bay, which would have put L.A. in field-goal range for the potential tie.

Johnston confessed to reporters on Tuesday, via a team transcript, “I took my eyes off at the catch-point, a clear lack of focus. I consider it completely unacceptable. Whenever I return to practice or feel a certain way during practice, I remind myself of that moment. The notion that slacking off for even a day might lead to a similar game performance is something I absolutely don’t want to repeat.”

The Chargers’ new brass have made it clear that Johnston has a clean slate and have gone out of their way to praise the wideout’s positive attributes.

“Taking a player back to that, especially if it’s negative, doesn’t seem to serve any purpose going forward. I wasn’t coaching him and I wasn’t present at the time. I’m not aware of the circumstances,” Sanjay Lal, the wide receivers coach, said on Tuesday, as per the team transcript.

Lal spent the past two seasons in Seattle and said he’s putting Johnston through some of the same drills he used with DK Metcalf to help spur faster breaks in a route.

“Johnston has a great deal of energy. He nearly leaps when he runs,” Lal stated. “We’ve focused a lot on improving his body positioning. He’s made significant improvements in certain areas, particularly with his stop-type routes. He’s mastered maintaining balance by keeping his shoulders over his feet longer and avoiding looking early. That’s a significant improvement he’s made so far.”

Johnston must continue to progress in 2024. In his previous role as a rookie, he was wrongly cast as a true X receiver in the previous offense. It’s hoped that the new L.A. staff will better utilize the wideout by getting him more mobile and giving him space to make plays.

With Keenan Allen and Mike Williams gone, passes are up for grabs between Johnston, Josh Palmer, D.J. Chark and rookies Ladd McConkey and Brenden Rice.