2023 NFL Draft Recap: Los Angeles Chargers
The 2023 NFL Draft has concluded after months of scrutiny about these prospects, potential landing spots, team and scheme fits, and so on. Now we get to start the entire process all over again now that we have team landing spots for these college prospects with their new NFL teams.
Today, we tackle the Los Angeles Chargers and how they fared in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Los Angeles' 2023 NFL Draft Selections:
- Round 1, Pick 21 - Quentin Johnston, WR, TCU
- Round 2, Pick 54 - Tuli Tuipulotu, EDGE, USC
- Round 3, Pick 85 - Daiyan Henley, LB, Washington St.
- Round 4, Pick 125 - Derius Davis, WR, TCU
- Round 5, Pick 156 - Jordan McFadden, G, Clemson
- Round 6, Pick 200 - Scott Matlock, DT, Boise State
- Round 7, Pick 239 - Max Duggan, QB, TCU
The 2023 Fantasy Football Impact
Quentin Johnston was one of the few prospects that landed in a great spot as he will join the Chargers and quarterback Justin Herbert. Listed at 6'3” and 208 pounds, the TCU product is also one of the few WR prospects in the class listed above six feet tall. So he’s certainly got some nice peripherals going for him.
He’s joining a receiver room that currently features Keenan Allen (31) and Mike Williams (28), both of which are on the "back nine" of their careers. It might be a year before we see a true breakout from Johnston, but even with a crowded receiver room, he found himself in one of the better situations in this rookie class.
However, Johnston is one of the more volatile prospects in this class. Let’s break it down a bit. For starters, people are wary of drafting a TCU receiver period, let alone with a first-round draft choice. He’s got one of the worst drop rates in the NCAA at 11.8%, he’s not an excellent route runner, and he has a sub-50% contested catch win rate. Meaning he has trouble getting open and catching the ball at times - two pretty important components for a receiver in the NFL.
Quentin Johnston is a risky pick in your rookie drafts, but all rookies are risky. Johnston possesses elite upside and is definitely worth a chance with one of your late first-round picks this year.
The Chargers brought in Quentin Johnston’s college teammate Derius Davis out of TCU in the fourth round, but the two teammates possess vastly different skill sets. Listed at 5’8”, Davis has elite 4.36 speed, and the Chargers wanted someone to take the top off of defenses. Davis played five seasons for the Horned Frogs, whose best season was in 2022 with 531 yards and five touchdowns, so he was never an elite producer in Fort Worth.
Davis is a stash for your deeper leagues, but don’t expect much in terms of fantasy production. At least not in 2023.
This list wouldn’t feel right without adding the quarterback who threw to both of these receivers throughout college, Max Duggan. While not many fantasy implications with Duggan, we’ve learned from the past that teams like to throw darts at quarterbacks late in drafts. I’m not saying you should be taking Max Duggan late in your rookie drafts, but if you play in 14-16 team leagues, he might be worth stashing simply because you have the bench space. Other than that, there’s not much going on in terms of fantasy here, but he had to round out the TCU list.
Follow Conner Shears on Twitter @ConnerShears!