2023 NFL Draft Profile: WR Quentin Johnston

The Giants need receiver help. So what could TCU's Quentin Johnston bring to the table?

Quentin Johnston, WR

Height: 6-foot-4
Weight: 215 lbs.
Class: Junior
School: TCU

A former four-star recruit out of Temple High School in Temple, Texas, where he was the 14th wide receiver and the 9th Texan recruit in the 2020 recruiting class. Temple High School was also home to Steelers’ legend “Mean” Joe Greene. Originally committed to the Texas Longhorns but opted to become a Horned Frog instead after the dismissal of Texas WR coach Drew Mehringer.

Notables

Their offense largely facilitated TCU’s magical run to the College Football Championship, where Johnston was the most explosive weapon. Johnston caught 60 of 97 (61.9%) targets for 1,067 yards with six touchdowns in 2022. He finished his three seasons at TCU with 115 catches on 199 targets (57.8%) for 2,158 yards and 14 touchdowns.

Made Bruce Feldman’s Freak List before the season. Johnston reportedly jumped 42” in the vertical with an 11-foot broad jump while running a 4.40 forty-yard dash.

Johnston was a true deep threat when he first stepped onto campus. He averaged 22.1 yards per catch during his freshman season. His speed and acceleration are some of the endearing traits that have him in the first-round conversation. He leveraged those traits to two consecutive first-team All Big-12 honors in 2021 & 2022. Johnston was a Biletnikoff Award semifinalist in 2022.

Strengths

• Ideal size and length for the position
• Long-strider with elite acceleration
• Eats into the leverage of defenders in off-coverage; gets on their toes real quick
• Elite athlete with great speed and explosiveness
• Very good stop-start ability with excellent change of direction
• Solid outside-jab release to create separation on quick slants
• Deceptive slipperiness in tight quarters
• Rare short-area quickness for a player of his build
• Upright jukes and shiftiness force missed tackles
• Elite ability to get vertical after catch on routes breaking back to the quarterback
• Slick making the first man miss with his back turned to defenders
• YAC master
• A three-level threat on the field
• Good overall tracking ability - gets eyes on the football, tracks into hands in stride
• Solid body control when leaping for the football
• Not easy to bring down after the catch
• Body control and contact balance
• Had several impactful plays to help TCU defeat Oklahoma State in OT - competitive toughness
• Q4 4:18 2nd & 7, 30 yard reception with two missed tackles
• OT 14:50 2nd & 10, Touchdown on skinny post
• Signs of excellent processing and spatial awareness when running routes
• Versus quarters coverage, adjusted to deep post for 29 yds
• Texas Q1 2:52, 3rd & 16
• Has all the athletic traits to be an excellent route runner with some refinement

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Weaknesses

• Played the majority of 2022 snaps on the left side
• More of a body catcher than a hands catcher
• Frustrating drops were still on his tape in 2022 (8 total drops that season)
• For a player who plays above the rim, I wished to see more true contested catches
• 34.8% contested catch win rate in 2022
• Struggled to consistently adjust to catches thrown slightly behind him
• Limited route tree - a lot of verticals, drags, screens, and slants
• Seemed to overthink double moves
• Oklahoma State: Q4, 14:32 INC pass (awkwardly run)
• Did not see much press alignment
• Squeezed close to the sideline on verticals a bit too much
• One year of elite-type of production
• Never had more than six touchdowns in a season (in the Big-12).
• Only an adequate blocker despite his size

Summary

Quentin Johnston has an elite combination of athletic ability, size, and length that will easily assist the team that selects him in April. Johnston has dangerous deep-threat capabilities but is an effective weapon at all three levels of the field. 

One of Johnston’s best traits is the ability to get vertical and make the first man miss after securing a catch on a route facing the quarterback (curl, comebacks, etc.); for that, he’s the ideal fit for a Jason Garrett-led offense.

His success is not limited to stagnant routes because he’s dynamic, running vertically or horizontally with excellent speed, burst, and acceleration. There’s a lot to appreciate about his game, but he does leave some to be desired. 

He’s more of a body catcher who doesn’t thrive in contested catch situations, despite his size. His route tree was also limited, and he’ll likely have to refine his route running and release package at the next level.

Despite some quibbles, Johnston offers ideal size and explosive playmaking ability while also possessing the change of direction skills and the short-area quickness to make defenders look silly in tight spaces. Johnston will likely be selected on the first day of the 2023 NFL Draft.

GRADE: 6.38 

Nick Falato

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