Quentin Johnston Scouting Report and NFL Draft Profile
Quentin Johnston Scouting Report Measurables
40-Yard Dash Time – 4.40
6’4” / 215 lbs.
Quentin Johnston Draft Profile
Quentin Johnston is a former 4-star recruit out of Temple High School in Temple, Texas. According to 247sports, he was the 18th best wide receiver in the 2020 recruiting class. He was ranked 16 spots lower than Ohio St. receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba and 15 spots lower than Kayshon Boutte. While achieving this status, he gained recognition from lots of schools around the country. But only eleven of them offered him a scholarship. Some of these schools were Texas, Baylor, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, and TCU. After visiting TCU, Johnston knew that the Horned Frogs were the right program for him.
Since arriving at TCU, he has been nothing short of impressive. Johnston got to play right out the gate for the Horned Frogs. According to ESPN, he racked up 22 receptions, 487 receiving yards, and 2 receiving touchdowns. I should also add that he did that in only 8 games. Although he was very impressive as a freshman, his sophomore season was even more special. In the same number of games, he had 33 receptions for 612 yards and 6 touchdowns. Finally, prior to the College Football Playoffs, he has 53 receptions for 903 yards and 5 touchdowns.
Strengths
Release
When lined up against soft coverage, Johnston has one of the quickest releases in the nation. He has good foot speed, agility, and first-step quickness that allows him to quickly stem his routes. His ability to attack a defensive back’s hips is also very impressive because it often forces them off-balance and gives Johnston leverage. I should also note that he is also very physical at the point of attack. This allows him to gain leverage by forcing them off-balance or into his back pocket. Either way, he has proven that he can get open quickly off the snap.
Hands
Quentin Johnston has some of the strongest hands that I have seen out of all the receiver prospects in this draft. His ability to hold onto the ball through contact in the middle of the field is very impressive. When running short-intermediate routes in the middle of the field, he shows incredible concentration and manual dexterity. This allows him to make a contested catch and hold onto it through contact. He has also shown glimpses of his ability to track the ball and make over-the-shoulder catches downfield.
Extending Plays
When watching Johnston’s film throughout this season, I was very impressed with his ability to extend plays. With the ball in his hand, Johnston shows that he can be very elusive for a receiver of his size. He is very good at changing directions quickly due to his ability to sink his hips and explode in another direction. I also noticed that he is very good at eluding defenders with his back turned to them. He has a good double move that makes the defender think he is going to cut toward the inside. But he quickly turns his hips in the other direction and explodes down the sideline. Although he is good at eluding defenders to extend plays, he is also solid at breaking tackles. As I mentioned earlier, he stands at 6’4” and weighs 215 lbs. so, he is not scared to drop his shoulder.
Awareness
As I mentioned earlier, Johnston is very good at getting open against soft-man coverage. But I am even more impressed with his awareness and ability to find holes in zone coverage. When running his routes, he does a good job of reading the field and knowing where defenders are. This allows him to find holes in the coverage and be wide open for an easy catch. Then, once he has the ball, he uses his awareness and athletic ability to extend the play as long as possible.
Weaknesses
Gaining Separation
As I mentioned earlier, Johnston is good at gaining leverage off the snap against soft coverage. But I believe that he needs to improve on his ability to separate at the top of routes. Although he has good acceleration off the snap, his top speed is often matched by opposing DBs. This makes it difficult for him to get open deep down the field. I also found that although he is a physical route runner, he is adequate at getting off the line quickly against press coverage. This sometimes completely takes him out of plays because he is not yet where he needs to be.
Run Blocking
Given that Johnston has tremendous size, many people would believe that he is a solid blocker. Unfortunately, that is not the case in many circumstances. I should note that he is not a bad blocker, he just struggles at dominating players at the point of attack. He often wins when he is blocking smaller corners because he can overpower them. But I would not rely on his blocking ability when lined up opposite a bigger corner or a linebacker. Once he gets to the NFL, this will likely no longer be a big liability. This is because he will be shown how to use his size to his advantage.
Limited Route Tree
Although Quentin Johnston is a tremendous athlete and gifted route runner, he is limited on the routes he can run. While at TCU, he has run only a certain number of routes, and this has made me question his ability. He is very effective when running short and intermediate routes due to his ability to pocket defenders. But I would like to see more of what he could do when running a variety of routes deep down the field. Once he goes through the pre-draft process, he will likely have to run a variety of routes to prove his worth. If he can prove that he is effective in all routes, then this will no longer be a weakness.
Quentin Johnston Draft Stock
In my 2023 Mid-Season Mock Draft, I had Johnston as the first receiver off the board. He is a very talented receiver with a very high ceiling. He would be the best fit for a team that likes to spread out the field. I also think that he should go to a team that has an already developed group of receivers. That is why I think he would be best fit to go to the Chicago Bears.
Final Thoughts on Quentin Johnston Scouting Report
Throughout his career at TCU, Johnston has shown he deserves to be a top receiver in this draft class. He has a tremendous frame and athletic ability that is very fun to watch. He has very good hands that allow him to be effective anywhere on the field. He also has good awareness that allows him to find a hole in zone coverage and extend plays. If he can work on extending his route tree and gaining separation quickly against press coverage, he will have a bright future.
Player Comparison
He reminds me of someone who I mocked to be his teammate next season. That player is former Notre Dame wide receiver and current Chicago Bear, Chase Claypool.
Quentin Johnston Scouting Report- Matthew Lewis
