Quentin Johnston 2023 NFL Draft profile: Scout report for the TCU WR

Quentin Johnston, TCU: 6’3”, 205 pounds.

One of the top-100 recruits in 2020, Quentin Johnston was a first-team All-Big XII selection in 2021, thanks to 33 catches for 612 yards and six touchdowns. He averaged 19.8 yards per catch in his first two seasons with the Horned Frogs, with basically the same per-touch output as a freshman.

This past season, that number slightly went down, but he more than doubled is career-receptions (60) for 1069 yards and six TDs. That earned him first-team All-Big Ten accolades for the second year in a row.

Quentin Johnston scout report: Strengths

+ For being a big-bodied wideout, Quentin Johnston rapidly gets up to full speed with the long strides to win down the field. He ran a ton of vertical routes as the Horned Frogs X or Z receiver, either clearing out space on the front-side or being a real threat on backside alerts versus solo coverage.

+ Can slow-play his release and then blow by his man. Even against outside shades, you see him stutter or jab inside and then display the explosiveness to beat them to the far shoulder.

+ Very sudden in short areas and already pretty good at swatting away the hands of defenders as he works across their face, and consistently gains a couple of steps on his name on drag routes.

+ There’s a few deep comebacks on tape, where he makes the corner overrun the break-point by like five yards because of how he scares guys with his ability to run by.

+ On curls you see him sort of sell the take-off without getting past the outside shoulder and use his arms to slightly push off.

+ Can put safeties on their heels when pushing vertically out of the slot and create large passing downs breaking either way.

+ His ball-tracking down the field is at the next level and you don’t see him distracted by DBs trying to pin his near-arm (making a couple of impressive one-handed grabs with the other one).

+ Shows the ability to sky for the ball and swallow it with his palms over his head. He also brings the focus in tight areas to stomach the ball and make sure it’s not being punched out. In the 2022 Kansas State game, he was really working the middle of the field and looked unbothered by the bodies around him.

+ Had a couple of “big-boy” plays against Oklahoma in 2021, once skying for a sideline grab with bodies around him and running away from the pursuit for a TD. Plus a Randy Moss-like catch, where he truly ripped the ball away from the corner on a goal-line fade.

+ Has the speed to catch a crossing route and defeat pursuits to the opposite sideline.

+ However, if he catches a curl or dig, he packs a rapid spin move the other way to defeat the defender driving down on him, plus then he possesses the frame to have tacklers slip off him.

+ And the way he can start-stop in the open field for a guy his size is kind of scary. He forced a missed tackle on nearly every third catch last year (19 on 60 receptions).

+ In the run game, he will add in some hesitation off the line to get corners on their heels and then land his hands inside their chest.

+ You see Johnston have to crack back or adjust to safeties as they try to shoot through a lane and get a solid piece of them, helping to spring the ball-carrier to the outside.

+ Had a monster performance in their win over Kansas in 2022, with 14 catches for 201 yards and a TD. But my favorite highlight on the day of his was him blocking both DBs to his side, in order to set up a long touchdown on a screen to one of his fellow receivers.

+ Only did the jumps at the combine, but showcased his explosiveness with a 40.5-inch vert and a 10’5” broad.

Quentin Johnston scout report: Weaknesses

– Didn’t run many intricate routes, mostly going across or down the field at full speed.

– Has room to improve how he tilts in his routes down the field, opening up space for himself, to just bend off one foot on seven- and eight-routes (particularly out of the slot).

– Barely cracked 100 receiving yards through the first month of the ’22 season, before having his breakout game against Kansas. He was completely taken out of the National Championship game, catching just one pass for three yards in the 65-7 blowout loss to Georgia (although he might’ve had a touchdown on a shallow post route out of the slot if the ball was thrown his way).

– Allows the ball to get into his chest and leaves his feet unnecessarily on way too many occasions as he approaches the catch.

– Doesn’t utilize his size in contested situations nearly enough, hauling in only eight of 23 such opportunities last season.

Quentin Johnston scout report: Grade

In contrast to what I said about USC’s Jordan Addison, Quentin Johnston is exactly the type of receiver that makes DBs’ knees shake as he jogs out of the huddle.

His explosiveness and deep speed, combined with the way he can stop his momentum and run away from guys as he sticks his foot in the ground, is pretty insane. The skill-set is absolutely there to be an alpha X-receiver at the next level.

Unfortunately, he’s still far from realizing that potential. The way he can set up defenders as a route-runner, how he approaches the ball on a consistent basis and the fact that he just doesn’t use his physicality when he’s battling for the ball with smaller defenders, are all underwhelming.

I’m not sure if Quentin Johnston is the most natural catcher of the ball and therefore I can’t put him at the top of the list, even though I believe he has the highest ceiling of the class.

Grade: First round.

You might like other 2023 NFL Draft Scouting Reports: Jaxon Smith-Njigba (WR), Ohio; Zay Flowers (WR), Boston; Jordan Addison (WR), USC; Jalin Hyatt (WR), Tennessee; Jordan Addison (WR), USC; Noah Sewell (LB), Oregon; Zach Charbonnet, RB, UCLA; Bijan Robinson (RB), Texas.

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