The Chargers’ miserable start has already put Quentin Johnston in the trade conversation.
Los Angeles opened the 2026 season 0-6 and was on a bye in Week 7, with the Battle of Los Angeles against the Rams set for Sunday. That kind of spiral always invites deadline chatter, and Johnston is now part of it.
In a recent ESPN piece ranking the top 25 players who could be moved before the NFL trade deadline on November 10th, Johnston checked in at No. 20.
ESPN fantasy football and NFL writer Matt Bowden and senior NFL reporter Jeremy Fowler teamed up for the ranking, which also included team fits. Fowler said Johnston had been ruled out in the offseason after the Chargers exercised his fifth-year option, but his name has started coming up again in league circles since the 0-6 start.
Bowden’s tape notes painted the familiar picture of a receiver with obvious tools. Johnston is listed at 6-3 and 208 pounds, has the kind of frame that can create explosive plays, and could help a team as a No. 3 receiver. The issue, Bowden pointed out, is the drops: Johnston has dropped 11 passes over the first four seasons of his career.
The predicted chance of a trade was set at 25 percent, with the San Francisco 49ers, Las Vegas Raiders and Pittsburgh Steelers named as possible fits.
Johnston has flashed at times through his first four seasons in Los Angeles, but this year has been quiet. He has only eight receptions, and the offense around him has struggled badly. That leaves the Chargers with a decision to make: hold onto a player they clearly value enough to pick up his fifth-year option, or turn him into draft capital while the season is going sideways.
What happens next will come down to what general manager Joe Hortiz wants to do and what vision the organization has for the future. Either way, the Chargers figure to stay in the spotlight as the deadline approaches.
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