TCU WR Quentin Johnston is Terribly Overrated

TCU WR Quentin Johnston is Terribly Overrated

With the 2022 College Football season nearing its end, position rankings are beginning to drop ahead of the 2023 NFL Draft. At the center of the rankings discourse annually is wide receiver. From what I have been reading, there are guys who deserve to be at or near the top, but there is one name that keeps popping up that simply doesn’t deserve to be there: TCU’s Quentin Johnston. I believe he is a by-product of the fan-favorite Cinderella story team. I’ll explain.

Here are the season stats for Johnston:

• 59 catches
• 1,066 yards
• Six touchdowns
• 18.1 YPC

These stats don’t scream WR1 in a draft class that boasts guys like Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Josh Downs, Jordan Addison, Zay Flowers and many more. If you took Johnston and those stats and put him on an 8-5 team, we aren’t even discussing him or his potential at the next level. But because he is on this TCU team that has made a miracle run to the national championship, he is getting all the attention. He did get some love in our NFL Draft Stock post from Saturday, but I don’t get it. The strengths don’t outweigh the weaknesses.

I would argue outside of having good hands, obviously, the two most important traits of a receiver are a good route tree and being able to create separation. Johnston has a dangerously limited route tree and struggles to create separation. He has good strength and a solid frame, but he won’t go up against Big-12 defensive backs in the NFL. He also runs incredibly upright. It’s not often you see him really sink his hips in cuts.

Yes, these are things that can be learned, I am aware. But I would much rather have an already polished receiver who I don’t have to wait around to figure it out.

2023 NFL Draft Stock Report: New Year’s Eve

I have Quentin Johnston as my WR4 behind Addison, Smith-Njigba and Downs.

The NFL Scouting Combine will be huge for a guy like Johnston. If he runs really well and shows better mobility, he can see his draft stock actually reach what some think it already is. But for now, let’s pump the brakes on Johnston being the top wideout in this class. He should definitely be a producer in the NFL, but he will need more time than some of the other guys coming out.

In the words of the great Aaron Rodgers: relax.

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