Chargers WR aims to rebound after 'unacceptable' rookie year

Wide receiver Quentin Johnston, the Chargers' first-round pick from a year ago, did not have the rookie season he or the team thought he would.

In 2023, the No. 21 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft had just 38 catches for 431 yards and two touchdowns while dealing with some drop issues.

Johnston is focused on ensuring those issues are behind him heading into his second season.

"I feel like it was a lack of focus altogether," Johnston said via Kevin Patra of NFL.com. "It was straight-up unacceptable."

His worst drop arguably came on a fourth-quarter third-down pass in Week 11 at Green Bay, which would have put Los Angeles in field-goal range for the potential tie.

The Chargers lost the game 23-20, a play Johnston relives every time he's at practice.

"I always kind of go back to that moment when I step back out on practice or if I'm feeling a certain type of way at practice, I always go back to that," Johnston added. "OK, if I take a day off here, it'll kind of correlate or wind down into a game like that, which, obviously, I do not want again."

Johnston will have to earn his way onto the field in 2024 after the team signed WR DJ Chark Jr. in free agency and selected wide receivers Ladd McConkey (second-round pick) and Brenden Rice (seventh-round pick) in the 2024 NFL Draft.

However, it seems Johnston will be given every opportunity to turn his career around. In May, general manager Joe Hortiz said he believes the 22-year-old is in store for a big 2024 season.

"He can do some rare things for a player his size. Jim was on the other sideline in one of his better games [in college], and so we've all seen it," Hortiz told Kay Adams on her "Up & Adams" podcast. "Everyone here has a high opinion of him. I believe he's really going to launch. I really do. His skill set is great. We're gonna work with him, make him better and better."

Only time will tell if Johnston makes a jump, but Los Angeles hopes that's the case after parting ways with star receivers Keenan Allen (Bears) and Mike Williams (Jets) this offseason.