LOS ANGELES (News4usonline) – The Los Angeles Chargers like their wide receivers to have some size on them. Across the board, the Chargers wideouts are big, sturdy and have a motor on them. Mike Williams. Keenan Allen. Joshua Palmer. All big and fast.
You can now add TCU standout wide receiver Quentin Johnson to that mix. According to the TCU 2022 roster sheet, Johnson measures in at 6-foot-4. Another pre-draft analysis has Johnson’s height at 6-3. In that regard, it’s semantics.
The bottom line is that Johnson is a target that is hard to miss. The Chargers took Johnson, who recorded 1,069 receiving yards in his final season with the Horned Frogs, with the 21st pick in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft.
“I’m excited.” Johnson said via Zoom.”I wasn’t really sure who I would be picked by or where I would go. All I knew was that I wanted to go to a team as soon as I can and get to work. I’m very happy and I’m very blessed.”
After the first round of the draft had concluded, Chargers head coach Brandon Staley shared his enthusiasm for Johnson and his potential with reporters. However, Staley wasn’t ready to say if the former TCU star would be a contributor right away or if he would be brought along slowly.
“We’re very excited that we drafted Quentin Johnston,” Staley said. “As for his forecasting and where he is going to fit in, I know that we are really excited to have him. He comes into a wide receiver room that as is as good as any in the NFL. There are so many good mentors for him in that room with two of the best receivers in the game with [WR] Mike Williams and [WR] Keenan Allen.
“Then, a young receiver, [WR] Joshua Palmer, who we think is fantastic. All Quentin needs to do is come be himself, that’s why we drafted him. We’re excited to have him. The big thing is just getting him in our building and having him be a part of the team. How that takes shape, there is a lot of time between now and when we play to define all of that. But, we’re super excited to have him.”
When you look at their roster, the Chargers have an infinity of big receivers. Williams comes in at 6-foot-4 and 218 pounds. Allen measures out at 6-foot-2 and 211 pounds. Palmer, whom the Chargers drafted in 2021, sits at 6-1 and 210 pounds. And if you want to throw Jalen Guyton into the mix, the fourth-year player shows up at 6-foot-1 and 212 pounds.
All four of these wide receivers have proven to be excellent targets for quarterback Justin Herbert during the last couple of seasons. That position just got a little bit deeper now that the Chargers have decided to go out and get Herbert another offensive weapon in the same mode as Williams, Palmer, Guyton, and Allen.
“That’s a great receiver room,” Johnson said. “It’s going to be good for me. I can go in early and pick up a lot of knowledge from those guys and apply it to my game.”
With the Chargers seeking out another wideout who would improve an already passing game. That’s really a scary thought for opponents. The Chargers had the No. 3 passing game in all of the NFL in 2022.
Herbert, who has broken or established many passing records in just three seasons, was the No. 2 quarterback in the league, right behind Super Bowl-winning signal-caller Patrick Mahomes.
Nabbing the first wide receiver taken in this year’s draft was simple enough for Chargers general manager Tom Telesco.
“He’s big, strong and fast,” Telesco said. “That’s a good way to start it off as a player. Great work ethic that we love. We know all of these players that are drafted. They’re all talented, but once they get in this league, it takes a lot of work to get to where you want to go and keep improving.
“He has some physical characteristics that we think he can add to our offense in a different role,” Telesco added. “We’re trying to give [QB] Justin [Herbert], our whole offense and [Offensive Coordinator] Kellen Moore a lot of different styles of players to use in different situations. We think he can fit that.”
The lead photo of Quentin Johnson appears courtesy of TCU Athletics/Football/FB
Dennis has covered and written about politics, crime, social justice, sports, and entertainment. Dennis currently covers the NFL, MLB, NBA, NCAA, and Olympic sports. Dennis is the editor of News4usonline.com and serves as the publisher of the Compton Bulletin newspaper. He earned a journalism degree from Howard University.