Quentin Johnston‘s redemption tour is off to a good start. The Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver, who struggled mightily throughout his rookie campaign, has played well through two games, including a two-touchdown performance Sunday in Carolina.
Johnston said he was champing at the bit to start the season after all the negative talk about his game last year.
“You see that type of stuff from the middle of the season last year all the way up until you get a chance to prove yourself again,” Johnston said, via The Athletic. “That’s always there, just in front of your face. You can’t run from it. You can’t really do anything but keep working. Go through it and then work to prove everybody wrong.”
A year ago, Johnston’s production didn’t match his first-round status. He generated 431 yards on 38 catches with two touchdowns. His rookie campaign included concentration drops, getting muscled out of routes and rarely getting open.
Under first-year Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh, Johnston looks like a different player. The wideout has already matched his TD total, hasn’t had a drop — catching eight of 11 targets — and, perhaps best of all, is displaying confidence.
“Nobody I’m more excited for than Quentin Johnston,” Harbaugh said. “Everybody on the team really likes Q, loves him, respects him, probably most of all because he’s kind of been picked on by a lot people. It doesn’t faze him. He just keeps doing him, and he works on stuff that he needs to get better at. Most important part, he doesn’t ever get the big head.”
Johnston’s five grabs on Sunday tied a career high. It wasn’t just that he’s finally making plays, but how he’s producing early this season. On the first touchdown — a 29-yarder on which he beat former first-round corner Jaycee Horn — there was a built-in alert versus press coverage. Justin Herbert and his receiver were on the same page, with Johnston eschewing the in-breaker for a vertical route. Johnston made a good play on the ball, something he didn’t always show as a rookie.
“We’re going to give this guy a shot,” Herbert recalled. “It’s going to be a 50-50 ball, but with Q, we believe that the odds are tilted in our favor.”
It’s early in the campaign, and more development is needed, but it’s a good sign that the 23-year-old fits well in Harbaugh’s system and is finally making plays.
“Everything you’re seeing from the first two games and then going through the rest of the season is just a testament to my work,” Johnston said.
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