Proposed Bills trade would land 23-year-old former first-round wide receiver

An analyst has proposed a trade between the Los Angeles Chargers and Buffalo Bills that would see a young wideout change addresses.

Terry Pegula, owner, CEO and president of the Buffalo Bills and Brandon Beane, general manager. | Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Buffalo Bills have one major concern on the offensive side of the ball, and that comes at wide receiver, where the team didn't have a single 1,000-yard player at the position in 2024.

The Bills enter the season with their top wide receiver being slot man Khalil Shakir, who has just one 800-yard season under his belt. Shakir is currently banged up, too.

Outside, Buffalo has a duo of Keon Coleman and Joshua Palmer, neither of whom have ever staked their claim as a true No. 1 boundary target in the NFL.

While we wouldn't expect Buffalo to make a significant move at the position at this late stage in the offseason, Travis Wakeman of Sporting News believes it could happen if the Los Angeles Chargers put Quentin Johnston on the trade block.

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Wakeman, who believes its conceivable Los Angeles could deal the third-year wideout after the team signed Keenan Allen, has proposed a trade that would see the Bills get Johnston in exchange for a 2026 third-round pick.

"The Bills are inside a Super Bowl or bust window and could use another target for Josh Allen to get the ball to, especially a big target that can go up and win jump balls," Wakeman writes.

"The Bills have second-year player Keon Coleman and former Chargers receiver Joshua Palmer, but Khalil Shakir has already been banged up this summer," he added.

Bills wide receiver Joshua Palmer pulls in a pass on a crossing route during the second day of Buffalo Bills training camp at St. John Fisher University Thursday, July 24, 2025 in Pittsford. | Shawn Dowd/Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Since being drafted with the No. 21 overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft, Johnston has shown flashes but has also been wildly inconsistent, with drops being a major issue.

Los Angeles spending a second-round pick on a wide receiver in Tre Harris and signing Mike Williams (he retired) and Allen shows there isn't a ton of confidence in Johnston.

With Johnston's stock not high, Los Angeles isn't likely to get a third-round pick in return, so that's the first problem with this proposal. A fourth-round pick is about the best the Chargers could hope for and that might be too high of an estimation.

The second issue is that Johnston would add another question mark to Buffalo's unit and wouldn't solve the team's need for a more proven and experienced wideout.

We highly doubt the Chargers will want to trade Johnston in the first place, seeing as how their wide receiver situation has some concerns, also. But if they do, the Bills aren't likely to be a suitor.

Jan 11, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Quentin Johnston (1) attempt to catch defended by Houston Texans corner back Kamari Lassiter (4) during the second quarter in an AFC wild card game at NRG Stadium. | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

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