Chargers News: Quentin Johnston Reveals Expert Advice From Khalil Mack About His Early Struggles
In the 2023 NFL draft, the Los Angeles Chargers selected TCU wide receiver Quentin Johnston with the 21st pick in the first round. Since then, life in the NFL has been rather difficult as the rookie wide receiver has struggled to make an impact in the offense.
With the pressures that come playing under the bright lights in the city of Angels, it appears that Johnston has found mentorship in a teammate who plays on the other side of the ball from him.
It was revealed by Fernando Ramirez of The Sporting Tribune that Johnston recently has been finding mentorship from teammate Khalil Mack with his ongoing struggles.
“He was making sure that was instilled into my head that I didn’t lose any confidence was the moral of everything he was saying,” Johnston said. “That was very helpful to hear something like that from a guy like that.”
In 2014, Mack was selected with the fifth overall pick by the Oakland Raiders after being an NCAA first team All-American in 2013 while being enrolled at Buffalo.
That season, Mack recorded 100 tackles in just 13 games, including a 15 tackle performance against Toldeo. The next week, Mack had another season high as he racked up three sacks in a road game at Miami. Leaving NFL scouts amazed and building plenty of draft hype despite playing at a school that is in the Mid-American Conference.
In Mack's rookie year, he totaled just four sacks with 75 total tackles and one forced fumble. NFL fans everywhere were looking to deem him a bust right from the get go.
In his second year, Mack began to silence the doubters by putting together a 15 sack season with 57 total tackles and two forced fumbles. Then in 2016, any doubt about him was completely gone on as he put togehter another double digit sack season that included five forced fumbles and one interception that led to him earning his first NFL defensive player of the year award.
For Johnston, the ability to have a mentor like Mack in the locker room could be everything for a young player.
This year, Johnston has just 21 receptions for 190 yards and one touchdown. The longest ball he has caught this year has gone for just 20 yards.
An area Johnston has struggled with this year has been catching the ball. Most notably, in their game against the Green Bay Packers, Johnston had his most crucial drop yet with just 31 seconds left in the game the Chargers were down 23-20 to the Green Bay Packers.
Johnston was lined up against Carrington Valentine and had him beat on a go route. Unfortunately, Johnston could not hold onto the ball. The Chargers would go on and lose the game to Green Bay.
While at TCU, Johnston was an incredible reciever for the Horned Frogs as he was a two tim All-Big 12 selection in 2021 and 2022.
In just 14 games played in 2022, Johnston was a leading receiver for TCU catching 60 balls for 1069 yards and six touchdowns.
The one thing that will always remain true about Johnston is his ability to make big plays down the stretch. At his pro day, Johnston ran a 4.46 40 yard dash and had an incredible vertical jump of 40.5".
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