Quentin Johnston Trade Speculation Might Be Red Flag for Chargers Before NFL Draft

What exactly hyped new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel wants to do with the wideout room for the Los Angeles Chargers remains something of a mystery.

Some of it feels obvious: Ladd McConkey isn’t going anywhere. He’s the likely No. 1, no matter what else Joe Hortiz and the team do with the depth chart.

The biggest question mark is also obvious: Quentin Johnston’s future.

Johnston’s name has already popped up in trade rumors this offseason. And the Chargers aren’t strangers to being suggested as a fit for someone like Tyreek Hill. Or even a trade for Cowboys superstar George Pickens, or other big names like A.J. Brown.

Most of those proposed deals involve Johnston, understandably.

Whether the Chargers would actually trade Johnston, though, is up for debate. And the answer could be a red flag for things to come.

Chargers could misplay Quentin Johnston trade speculation

Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Quentin Johnston — Quentin Johnston | Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

Johnston was a first-round pick by the Chargers in 2023. Since, he’s been marred by drop issues and the perception that he has a limited route tree holding him back.

Still, buzz has continually suggested that the Chargers like him too much to move on from him.

The latest comes from ESPN’s Kris Rhim: “The Chargers love Johnston internally and haven't given any indication that this will happen, but with significant depth in their wide receiving corps, a trade for the right price isn't out of the question.”

It’s a bad thing for the Chargers to have leaking out there. Other teams can see what outsiders do, in terms of Johnston possibly being on his way out the door. That’s going to make it hard to get any sort of value out of his departure via trade.

Even worse, the Chargers could pivot and keep Johnston. That doesn’t mean he gets a big share of the snaps in McDaniel’s offense. But it would mean keeping him around on a fifth-year option that’s going to check in at around $18 million. They have until May 1 to decide to pick that up or not.

At this point, still throwing Johnston out on the field with Justin Herbert is taking some risk just for the sake of it, too. He caught just 51 of 85 passes last year. He scored eight times, but the Pro Football Focus grade of 67.6 that ranked him 49th out of 81 wideouts speaks for itself.

Moving on from Johnston is probably best, but the Chargers have to get comfortable with the idea of not getting the proper value back in return. Not ideal, but neither is throwing a part that doesn’t fit into McDaniel’s offense.

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