Is NFL World Sleeping on Mike McDaniel's Impact on Quentin Johnston With Chargers?

Quentin Johnston is the one big thing that didn’t change for the Los Angeles Chargers upon the arrival of Mike McDaniel this offseason.

McDaniel, a savant of an offensive mind who revamped literally every position on Justin Herbert’s offense this offseason, endorsed Johnston at every turn.

We’re talking about changes at tight end (Charlie Kolar and David Njoku), changes at running back (Keaton Mitchell), changes at fullback (Alec Ingold) and changes along the offensive line (gestures at everything).

At wideout, though, rookie draft pick Brenen Thompson is a speedster who isn’t exactly a threat to take many in the way of snaps from Johnston. No other major moves, not even the somewhat-expected return of Keenan Allen again.

So why the continued endorsement of Johnston that goes against what fans expect?

YAC, obviously.

Mike McDaniel keeps endorsing Quentin Johnston

Los Angeles Chargers receiver Quentin Johnston — Quentin Johnston | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

As expected, the cap-savvy Chargers picked up Johnston’s fifth-year option.

But the option doesn’t guarantee snaps. What followed all offseason was, basically, the Chargers guaranteeing his snaps through their lack of other moves, though.

Maybe McDaniel sees a little Deebo Samuel or Tyreek Hill in Johnston when thinking about his scheme, at least when it comes to YAC (yards-after-catch) chances. Those guys set career highs in various ways during times with McDaniel.

Johnston sounds like he’s happy to get a stab at it.

“In college, I was a big yards-after-catch guy,” Johnston said. “So when he kind of introduced some of those things to us during meetings and at practice, he kind of lit me up a little bit. I'm very fired up about that.”

Johnston was a YAC monster in college, but he’s averaged just 13 yards per catch overall over three pro seasons so far. The bigger problem is the fact he’s caught just 144 of his 243 targets over that span. That’s not going to cut it with a quarterback like Justin Herbert.

Context matters, though. Johnston has gone through the same well-known coordinator changes over the years as Herbert. Last year’s archaic Greg Roman attack, combined with an injured, poor offensive line, didn’t exactly help his numbers. He still scored eight touchdowns for the second year in a row.

On paper, a more modernized, if not trendsetting offense that is harder for defenses to read and stop, could lead to big things for Johnston.

One could argue it was a little surprising the Chargers didn’t make bigger moves on the chance Johnston struggles with drops or something else again. But they’ve got second-year players Tre Harris and KeAndre Lambert-Smith developing and worthy of a look, too.

First up, though, is Johnston, who gets at least a little bit of a chance to prove he can live up to that first-round billing. It’s hard to think of a better chance than by working in a McDaniel offense, too.

Sign Up For the Chargers Daily Digest - OnSI’s Free Los Angeles Chargers Newsletter

Add us as a preferred source on Google