With the 2023 NFL regular season just weeks away, football fans are working hard to get their fantasy football teams together.
While Vikings’ Justin Jefferson, 49ers’ Christian McCaffrey, Bengals’ Jamarr Chase and Chargers’ Austin Ekeler headline a crop of the top players, the depth players are what make a championship team.
That is why not the most well-known or highly regarded yet still talented players in fantasy are just as imperative. That includes rookie wide receiver Quentin Johnston.
Johnston was among The 33rd Team’s 11 sleepers to consider for the upcoming season.
Johnston is also a rookie wide receiver with Round 1 draft capital, which, historically, is an archetype that serves fantasy managers well.
Johnston was drafted to provide a spark to Los Angeles’ offense as he has the speed and explosiveness to stretch the field, outpace defenders in the open field, and has the size to stack defensive backs.
Johnston needs to clean up the dropped passes that have lingered from his college playing days.
Nonetheless, Kellen Moore will design looks for Justin Herbert to get Johnston the ball in space. He averaged 8.9 yards after the catch in 2022 (10th in FBS), and his 18 forced missed tackles ranked eighth this season among receivers in the Power 5 conferences. Hello, big plays.
And even with Keenan Allen, Mike Williams and Joshua Palmer in front of him on the depth chart, Johnston still presents an intriguing option to get playing time early on, with room to grow into a sizable role if Allen or Williams were to go down with an injury.
I’m projecting Johnston to finish with 45-50 receptions for 650-700 yards and 4-6 touchdowns.