Chargers OC thinks Quentin Johnston's versatility is 'really special'

The Los Angeles Chargers drafted TCU wideout Quentin Johnston with the No. 21 overall pick in the NFL Draft last week. 

Johnston will likely be utilized in a variety of ways by new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore. 

"Q really stood out for us as we went through the process," Moore said, per Omar Navorro of the Chargers' official site. "Everyone kind of sees the measurables, the size as far as the height and the weight. What he did for TCU from his versatility, I thought, was really, really special. His ability to kind of catch-and-run, he was a fly-sweep guy. "He got the ball in a lot of different ways," 

Once Johnston gets the ball into his hands he's hard to take down. Johnston was No. 2 in the nation last year with 8.9 yards after the catch per reception. And per PFF, Johnston ranked first in the Big 12 with 19 missed tackles forced. 

Johnston will excel catching balls in traffic and he'll rack up YAC on screens, but Moore's excited about what Johnston can offer on deep patterns, too. L.A. ranked just No. 23 last season with 6.7 yards per pass attempt and they need more explosive plays if they want to keep up with Patrick Mahomes and the AFC West rival Kansas City Chiefs.  

"There's a vertical element of it that we're really excited about," Moore said. "With Q, just the size, catch radius. He goes up and gets the ball downfield. You can do it however you need to do it, whether it's size, catch radius, speed."

The 6-foot-3, 208-pound Johnston's presence will be much welcomed by QB Justin Herbert. Even in a talented receiver room with the likes of Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, and Josh Palmer, Johnston should still be able to make an impact as a rookie. 

"To have Q join that receiver room with all the talent that's in there in those guys and the experience," Moore said. "It's going to be awesome for him because he's going to learn so much from those guys. It's going to allow us to put these guys in different roles and different positions to allow them to be successful."

The Chargers will be hoping to have more success than they did in 2022 where they had a 10-7 regular season record and a demoralizing 31-30 wild card round loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.