The NFL draft is tonight, and Quentin Johnston is expecting to hear his name called. It's time to continue our 2023 NFL Draft Odds series with a special team to draft Quentin Johnston prediction and pick.
Last year at TCU, Johnston brought in 60 receptions for 1,069 yards and six touchdowns. That gave him over 2.000 yards, 14 touchdowns, and over 100 receptions for his career. In the playoff game against Michigan, he was electric, going for 163 yards and six touchdowns. He disappeared in the national title game though, receiving just one ball for three yards.
Still, Johnston is a big and athletic wide receiver. He comes in 6'4″, 215 pounds. He had great vertical routes and is classified as the most athletic of the receivers in this draft class. In his career, Johnston averaged 18.8 yards per reception, and teams looking for the big play threat should be very interested in him.
Here are the 2023 NFL Draft odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
2023 NFL Draft Odds: Team To Draft Quentin Johnston
Los Angeles Chargers (+170)
Kansas City Chiefs (+750)
New York Giants (+1000)
Buffalo Bills (+1200)
Baltimore Ravens (+1600)
Los Angeles Rams (+1600)
Arizona Cardinals (+1600)
Why The Los Angeles Chargers Will Draft Quentin Johnston
The Chargers are the favorite to land Johnston at the 21st pick in the draft. The Chargers lack a speed presence on the outside in the receiving room and Johnston immediately fills that void. One of the faster receivers available in the draft, Johnston combines that speed with great size getting downfield. Johnston is great at getting separation from his man and getting open downfield.
The longest passing play for any receiver on the year was 55 yards, and Johnston can easily go over that on any given play. Only DeAndre Carter and Mike Williams had double-digit 20-yard receptions on the year. Johnston had ten of those without yards after the catch last year, and added to that total with his ability to break away. He provides another weapon for Justin Herbert, but with Kenaan Allen, Mike Williams, and Josh Palmer on the roster, would this be overkill to use a first-round pick here?
Why The Kansas City Chiefs Will Draft Quentin Johnston
Quentin Johnston took a visit to the Chiefs during his draft visits. The Chiefs currently have Skyy Moore, Kadarius Toney, and Marquez Valdes-Scantling on the roster, but they lost JuJu Smith-Schuster and Mecole Hardman. Johnston would be a nice compliment to the room and a replacement for the Chiefs. First, he is great over the top and pulling safety help into coverage. Even if that is all he does, he takes away safety from helping with Travis Kelce. If a team uses the safety on Kelce, Johnston will be open downfield, using his speed to break through the secondary.
Valdes-Scantling was the big play threat for the team last year, but adding another one to the other side of the ball would be helpful to an already stellar offense. He also adds some size in the red zone. He would be asked to replace Smith-Schuster who was not a red zone threat. This would give Maholmes someone else to throw to near the goal line. The biggest question is will he be available?
Why The Baltimore Ravens Will Draft Quentin Johnston
Quentin Johnston also took a trip to the Ravens in this draft cycle. Todd Monken is the new offensive coordinator in Baltimore and he would love an explosive threat like Johnston. They need the big X target in his offense, and Johnston more than fields that need. Monken loves to run vertical one-on-ones as well as the shallow slats with run-after-catch opportunities. Johnston excels in both those categories. According to PFF, he forced 24 missed tackles on receptions, which is tied for fifth in the nation.
His height would also be of help. Bateman, Agholor, and Duvernay are not the tallest receivers, so adding a tall, large athletic receiver to the mix may be good. The problem here is Lamar. Is Lamar going to be a Raven? If so, is he good with this pick? The Ravens signed OBJ, do they need another receiver? While this is a perfect fit, there are also a lot of questions.
Why The Arizona Cardinals Will Draft Quentin Johnston
Quentin Johnston is not going number three overall in the draft, but how about going #11? The Titans are looking to trade up with the Cardinals to take a quarterback and this could lead to Johnston in Arizona. First, the Cardinals are looking to trade DeAndre Hopkins. This means their top wideout from last year will be gone. Second, Johnston's size. Marquise Brown and Rondale Moore are both much smaller wideouts. He would add a completely new dimension to the passing game.
The Cardinals also need a big play threat. Brown led the team with nine receptions over 20 yards, but they struggled in that area. Johnston is an immediate improvement as long as Kyler Murray can get the ball to him. The biggest question here is what do the Titans do?
2023 NFL Draft Odds: Team To Draft Quentin Johnston Pick and Prediction
There are a lot of teams that can use Quentin Johnston. For the Chiefs to snag him, it would probably need to be a trade-up in the first round. That is not something Andy Reid does lightly, but not uncommon for him. Still, he may end up being a hot commodity. The other question is the team's views on the other wideouts in the draft. There is Jaxon Smith-Njigba Jordan Addison, Zay Flowers, and Josh Downs in the draft. If a team who needs a wideout falls in love with one of these guys, it could be possible that Johnston is left waiting until Friday for his name to be heard. If Johnston is not picked tonight, the Cardinals will take him in round two, but that is highly unlikely. While the idea of him as a Cardinal at 11 is nice, the most logical is he falls a little before the Ravens snag him at 22.
2023 NFL Draft Odds: Team to Draft Quentin Johnston Prediction: The Baltimore Ravens Select Quentin Johnston #22
2023 NFL Draft Odds: Team to Draft Quentin Johnston Pick: Ravens (+1600)
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