The Tennessee Titans have rightly been linked mostly to wide receivers and offensive linemen in the mock drafts of experts early on this offseason, and we have yet another pegging a wideout to Tennessee at No. 11 overall.
With their first-round pick, the scouting department over at The 33rd Team has Tennessee selecting TCU wideout, Quentin Johnston. Here’s the write-up:
It’s taking two first-round picks to replace A.J. Brown: Treylon Burks last year and now Johnston. He has big-play ability, is 6-foot-4, and plays the game with a physical edge.
While I’d prefer Tennessee to spend a first-round pick on the best available offensive lineman, we know things don’t always work out that way. That said, if it’s wide receiver in Round 1, Johnston would be a great pick.
The 6-foot-4, 193-pound wideout has the kind of size Tennessee needs to add to its receiving corps., but he also offers impressive speed that will help check yet another box.
Here’s more on Johnston, per our own Shaun Calderon:
If your team is seeking an experienced, productive, and wildly athletic wide receiver with unlimited upside, Quentin Johnston may be the perfect prospect for them. According to PFF, Johnston finished with an overall grade of at least 71.0 in each of his three collegiate seasons, leading the team in receiving yards all three years while averaging approximately 19 yards per reception over his entire career.
Despite all this, the TCU wideout is likely going to cause plenty of polarizing debates over the coming months. If you solely look at his analytics, you think he’s nothing more than a slightly above-average wide receiver. However, if you actually take the time to sit down and watch the guy, it’s evident relatively quickly that he has mental and physical traits that you simply could never coach into somebody no matter how hard you tried.
Johnston possesses a very rare blend of size, length, twitchiness, fluidness, and explosiveness that not many receivers have at their disposal. He also combines his special skill set with natural playmaking instincts. It seems like the TCU product always has a genuine understanding of where the open grass is, and he finds a way to get there more often than not.
Unfortunately, the Texas native is more of a physical specimen at the moment than he is a polished technician, especially when it comes to the consistency of his route running. Johnston has a tendency of becoming overly reliant on his physical traits to win the rep instead of using those assets to strengthen his technique.
Fortunately, all the deficiencies in his game could easily be developed once he’s around NFL coaching on a full-time basis.
Johnston is coming off a dominant season where he produced monstrous numbers in spite of an ankle injury that he suffered on November 5th. The All-Big 12 WR accumulated 955 receiving yards and six TDs over the final nine games of the season, including seven games where he accounted for at least 65 yards, four games topping 130+ yards, and three games in which he eclipsed 160+.
Shaun has even more information on Johnston in the tweet below. We highly suggest you check out all of his prospect profiles on Twitter.
First WR prospect of the week:
WR Quentin Johnston, @TCUFootballI personally think the Titans should go OL in Round 1 if either of the top tackles is there at 11, but you won’t get many complaints out of me if Tennessee goes this route instead.#GoFrogs #Titans pic.twitter.com/51ivZvgpnT
— Shaun Calderon (@ShaunMichaels31) January 16, 2023
The Titans had arguably the worst receiving corps. in the NFL in 2022, so it isn’t crazy to think they go wide receiver at No. 11. However, depending on what happens in free agency, their first goal should be landing an offensive lineman, and preferably a franchise left tackle if possible.
