NFL Draft: 10 best wide receivers available in 2023
By KC Proctor
4. Quentin Johnston, Texas Christian University
WR1 for some, WR5 for none. Quentin Johnston is an absolute force combining class-leading measurables with blazing speed. He is one of four shoo-in, first-round wide receivers this year and earned that title with incredible consistency.
2022 — as the Horned Frogs marched to the CFP championship game — was indubitably Johnston’s biggest season at TCU. While his success on the deep ball was inspiring — with five of his six touchdowns coming from them — his developed involvement in further elements of the passing game is what solidified him near the top of this list.
In his first two seasons at TCU Johnston saw nearly half of his total yards on the stat sheet reflected in connections on deep routes (20+ yards). In 2022, he was targeted 25 times on deep routes — which totaled less than half of his yards on the season— and 72 times on routes run 19 yards or less. 24 of those targets — and 22 of his 60 total receptions — were behind the line of scrimmage. His YAC on receptions behind the line (257) was the highest total of any type of route he ran. In short, he was unlocked in the screen game and he showed up as a beast on tape.
Johnston’s expanded role and his athletic prowess being displayed in a greater variety of ways deserve nearly as much credit in regards to TCU’s offensive success as Max Duggan’s Heisman finalist campaign. He can get plugged in anywhere in the NFL and make an immediate impact.