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When Quentin Johnston was selected in the first round of the 2023 NFL draft out of TCU, he was on top of the world.
He had helped lead the Horned Frogs to their first College Football Playoff berth and first national championship appearance in program history, and he was being tasked with being the key piece in an offensive rebuild in Los Angeles with high expectations.
Well, it didn’t quite work out that way.
In his first two seasons, Johnston developed a reputation as a first-round letdown after double-digit drops and a lack of explosive performances for the Chargers under the new regime of head coach Jim Harbaugh.
Throughout the lows of the start of his career, he said he tried to keep his mindset consistent.
“Keeping the main thing the main thing, and that’s telling myself that I made it here for a reason,” Johnston said after the Chargers’ 34-17 win over the Cowboys on Sunday. “I just always have it in the back of my head that I’m here for a reason. Just keep mashing the gas day in and day out at practice, in the meeting room and then ultimately in the game.”
The hard work has begun to pay off. After hauling in four receptions for 104 yards and a touchdown Sunday, Johnston’s production has started to show for a playoff-bound Chargers team that has relied on his services more and more throughout the season — and they’re being rewarded for doing so.
“I feel like we all came out with high confidence and just executed,” Johnston said. “I’m continuing to stack days, weeks, months. Ultimately, years. I feel like to this point, every year it’s been better and better. I attest that to my losses and my hardships. I feel like I look back on that a lot, and it helps me push myself more because I never want to be in that spot again. For a minute, it was a lot of ups and downs, so I’m working on being up here and staying up here.”
It was a special day for Johnston, as some of his old TCU friends and family members from his Central Texas hometown of Temple made the trip to AT&T Stadium to see his first NFL game in the venue.
“It’s real cool,” he said. “I remember even in little league, I had a few games here. I was able to play here in high school and in college. Just to come play at this level close to home with all of my people watching, it was a good feeling. It was good to be back home. I felt at home as soon as I touched down here.”
Johnston estimates that he had 50 to 60 people in attendance Sunday.
“I lost count after 20,” he said. “Like I said, just being able to put on for them and put on for my team and to be at home, it feels good.”
While Johnston has gone off to the West Coast and has entrenched himself in the NFL day-to-day life, he remains close to his TCU roots. His wide receivers coach for the Horned Frogs, Malcolm Kelly, remains a close friend and mentor through the early roller coaster that his career has been.
“I was just on the phone with him yesterday,” he said. “Just going back and forth, just talking football. He always calls me after every game, just talking. Whether I had a bad game or a good game, I feel like ever since I came into college, he was always even-keeled with me telling me what it is. I appreciate him a lot for that.”
Through 15 games, Johnston is third on the team with 637 receiving yards and first with eight receiving touchdowns. He is on pace to set career highs in all major receiving categories by the end of the season, as he continues to ascend in a breakout third year.
This story was originally published December 21, 2025 at 6:09 PM.
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Nick Harris
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