For the third year in a row, the LA Chargers have drafted a wide receiver in the first 60 picks of the NFL Draft. Unfortunately, the wide receiver who was taken the highest, Quentin Johnston in 2022, has been the most disappointing to this point.
Johnston's struggles with the Chargers have been well-documented since his arrival in the league. Johnston was instantly compared to Zay Flowers and Jordan Addison, who the Chargers picked him over. This made Johnston's struggles look even worse, leading many to cement him as a bust after just one season.
The former TCU receiver did see an uptick in his sophomore season under a new coaching staff. However, Johnston still struggled with drops making him an inconsistent and unreliable passing option for the Bolts.
Everyone in the Chargers building have said all the right things about Johnston publicly. However, the moves the Chargers are making are speaking louder than any of the positive comments from his teammates and coaching staff.
Chargers send a loud message to Quentin Johnston with Tre Harris selection
The Chargers drafted Tre Harris with the No. 55 pick to usurp Johnston in the depth chart. Harris gives the Chargers a boundary option who will primarily serve as the team's X receiver. The team was hopeful Johnston could blossom into that role last season but it never panned out.
If Harris was the only wideout the Chargers brought in this offseason then there would still be a spot for Johnston to get a fair share of snaps. However, the Chargers also re-signed Mike Williams, who is a far better contested-catch specialist than Johnston.
The Chargers will likely utilize Harris as a Z receiver because of his versatility in the instances where Williams is playing the X. On a team that already doesn't run a lot of three WR sets, this leaves a small number of snaps for Johnston to play.
The message is quite simple: Johnston has to earn every single snap he plays in 2025. His draft priors of being a former first-round pick no longer matter. If Johnston continues to struggle, the Chargers have a decorated veteran and a hungry rookie who will play over him.
This could be the beginning of the end for Johnston's tenure in Los Angeles, or hopefully, the start of a turnaround as Johnston finds a new motivation. While the latter is certainly the preferred route, the former is the more likely route.