One Chargers player looking to have a bounce-back season is wide receiver Quentin Johnston.
Johnston, last year’s first-round pick out of TCU, dealt with some growing pains in his rookie campaign.
Despite Johnston’s struggles in Year 1, head coach Jim Harbaugh wants to leave them a thing of the past.
“I just think he got a bad rap,” Harbaugh said about Johnston. “I look at some of the clips coming out of training camp last year. Whatever it was, it just seemed like in somebody’s mind he was a disappointment. He hasn’t been that at all in my eyes.”
Johnston’s problems stemmed from dropped passes and struggling to create separation in his routes. But in Harbaugh’s eyes, Johnston has the makings of being a dominant wideout with the tantalizing traits the Chargers hoped to get last season.
“I see big, fast, strong, getting stronger,” Harbaugh added. “I think that’s a piece that’s really been addressed in the offseason with coach (Ben) Herbert. And Quentin, just getting stronger to go with that. With that speed, the agility, his ability to catch the ball, he plucks it out of the air. He’s as good as anybody doing it. But then combining that speed and agility, getting that strength component to go along with it, he’s going to be a problem. He’s going to be a problem for people.”
Johnston caught three passes on four targets on Wednesday, according to The Athletic’s Daniel Popper. Popper added that Johnston looked sharper in his routes.
With Keenan Allen and Mike Williams gone, Los Angeles needs guys to step up in the positional room. Johnston can make his mark and dispel the narrative of being a wasted first-round pick.