TCU receiver Quentin Johnston will not be attending the 2023 NFL draft in Kansas City, Missouri, April 27-29.
According to Garrett Podell from CBS Sports, the Horned Frog wideout did not get an invitation to sit in the greenroom during the draft as the league isn’t confident he would be taken until the twenties overall in Round 1.
The reason Johnston didn’t get an invitation appears to be that the NFL is looking to spare him the Rodgers or Jackson treatment, where the television cameras continue cutting to Johnston and his table during a slide down as the first round gets underway. Johnston did receive feedback from the league that he is still projected to be a first-round pick, the source said. However, the range for his likely selection at this moment appears to be in the “20-28” pick range.
The teams from 20-28 include the Seattle Seahawks, Los Angeles Chargers, Baltimore Ravens, Minnesota Vikings, Jacksonville Jaguars, New York Giants, Dallas Cowboys, Buffalo Bills, and Cincinnati Bengals. Among those teams, the one most likely to take Johnston would be the Vikings at No. 23 overall.
If Johnston continued to fall out of the first round entirely, the Texans would have a realistic chance to take him at No. 33 overall, the second pick into the second round. As long as the Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t want Johnston, he would be the Texans’.
Houston could have Johnston earlier in the first round at No. 12 overall, depending upon where they have him valued compared to any edge rushers on the board at that time. If the Texans decide to go with a quarterback-defensive end combination in Round 1, and Johnston is falling out of the first round, Houston needs to take note in order to bolster the receiving corps at a great price.
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