Quentin Johnston has yet to meet expectations as a former first-round draft pick. Despite a slight improvement in his second season, his future with the LA Chargers remains uncertain. If he doesn’t make significant progress in his third year, the team may begin exploring other options to replace him.
Although Johnston is signed through four seasons, there’s no guarantee he’ll remain for the duration. He’s likely to stay on the roster in 2025, but it’s not uncommon for teams to move on from first-round receivers early—Johnston’s current teammate, Jalen Reagor, was traded after just two seasons for a seventh-round pick.
Confidence in Johnston turning things around is low, and speculation about his replacement is already underway. ESPN’s Jordan Reid, in an early 2026 NFL Mock Draft, projected the Chargers selecting LSU wide receiver Nic Anderson as Johnston’s potential successor.
“There aren’t many clear-cut top receivers in this class right now, but I’m anticipating a breakout year from Anderson,” Reid wrote. “He broke Oklahoma’s freshman touchdown receptions record in 2023 with 10, missed most of 2024 due to a quad injury, and then transferred to LSU.
With Nussmeier at quarterback, his stock could rise significantly. The Chargers could build a promising young receiver core featuring Anderson, Ladd McConkey, Tre Harris, and Johnston.”
Chargers draft Quentin Johnston’s replacement in 2026 NFL Mock Draft
It’s far too early to seriously consider Nic Anderson as a potential first-round pick for the Chargers. We don’t even know where the team will be selecting in the first round yet (Reid simply used a rough 2025 draft order), and there’s no guarantee Anderson will be a realistic option at that point.
Anderson’s stock could rise enough to land him in the top 10, or he might underperform and slide much lower. There are too many unknowns to lock onto any one player this early. The main takeaway for Chargers fans shouldn’t be Anderson specifically—it’s that experts expect the team to target a wide receiver in the first round.
That projection comes despite the Chargers selecting Tre Harris in the second round of the 2025 draft and Ladd McConkey in the second round in 2024. Plus, they already used a first-rounder in 2023 on Quentin Johnston.
The issue is that Johnston hasn’t played like a first-round talent, and the broader NFL community is taking notice. If he were performing to expectations, analysts likely wouldn’t be projecting another wide receiver so soon.
Sure, Johnston could still turn things around and surprise everyone, but based on his first two seasons, fans have good reason to be skeptical.
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