4 devastating draft mistakes that continue to haunt the Chargers
By Jason Reed
After 11 years the LA Chargers finally decided to move on from Tom Telesco and hire Joe Hortiz to replace him. While there is a new regime in Los Angeles, it is going to take some time for the Chargers to rid themselves of the residual effects of having Telesco run the team for over a decade.
Telesco did have some great moves as the Chargers GM but the overall results were not good enough. The Chargers made the playoffs just three times in 11 seasons and did not win the division once. It was an objective failure for Telesco as the GM no matter how you paint it.
The team is still living with some of the mistakes that led to Telesco's tenure being an abject failure. Some of Telesco's draft mistakes have long been rectified and are no longer hurting the team. Some, though, the Bolts continue to live with.
Draft mistakes that continue to haunt the Chargers:
Draftin Quentin Johnston with the 21st pick in 2023
Fans wanted the team to take Zay Flowers and all the signs were pointing to the Chargers taking Jordan Addison. So what did the Bolts do? They threw a curveball and selected Quentin Johnston, who was easily the worst first-round rookie receiver in 2023.
Johnston had a horrible rookie season that was more than just a lack of production. Johnston did not look the part of being a reliable NFL receiver, let alone a first-round receiver. Even if Johnston was taken in the third round the way he played still would have looked bad.
Is there a chance that Johnston turns it around with new coaching? Absolutely. But at this rate, Chargers fans have to expect the worst and be happy if they get anything better than that. Meanwhile, if the team would have just taken Flowers or Addison then it would have been in a much better spot with much easier offseason decisions ahead.