Chargers WR Quentin Johnston has had a relatively disastrous season compared to expectations. Johnston quietly had production bumps throughout his three completed NFL seasons. Last season, he had career highs in yards (735) and touchdowns (8). Through four games of 2026 however, Johnston has just 108 yards and no touchdowns. The TCU product has also registered a career high 22.2% drop percentage and a career low 25% contested catch rate. Johnston missed last week's game vs. Denver with a chest injury.
Last spring, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler floated Johnston in trade talks before the Chargers opted to keep him. Los Angeles also picked up Johnston's $18 million fifth-year option for 2027. In short, it felt like he was going to be part of their long term plans. But after a poor start to the year for both the team and Johnston, maybe his future will be reconsidered.
A key ESPN insider floats Quentin Johnston's name in possible trade scenarios again.
In a recent ESPN article regarding which WRs could be on the move in a trade after Marvin Harrison Jr., Fowler once again brought up Johnston's name for the first time since the spring. From the article:
"The Chargers' wideout has come up in a few of my recent conversations. The Bolts were firm in the offseason that they wouldn't deal him, but now that Los Angeles is sitting at 0-5, perhaps the timing is right."
ESPN's Dan Graziano then brought up the key complication with a Johnston trade now. If the Chargers had moved off of Johnston in the spring, a new team would've been able to decide on his fifth-year option. But now that LA picked it up, a team that trades for him is on the hook for $18 million fully guaranteed in 2027. Relative to what the team might've been able to get for Johnston back in March, his value will certainly be lower now.
Johnston's first-round pedigree and 2024/2025 seasons will still hold some value around the league. As we saw with Harrison Jr., former first-rounder tax is still a component of these types of trades. But Johnston's valuation will not be nearly as high Harrison's.
A league source I spoke to quoted Johnston's value as a 2027 6th rounder or a 2028 5th. On the higher end of outcomes, the Packers' trade haul for Dontayvion Wicks was mentioned. Green Bay received a 2026 fifth-rounder and a 2027 sixth-rounder from Philadelphia in that deal. Overall, the intent of moving Johnston would be to get off of his 2027 cap hit as opposed to getting surplus draft value.
If the Chargers are 0-6 by the end of this week, they need to be working the phones on their BYE. And that should include Johnston in addition to other players.
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