After a couple of underwhelming years for the former first-round pick, Chargers wide receiver Quentin Johnston is finally paying off as a breakout star of the 2025 season. He’s emerged as a legitimate fantasy football starter across all formats, but a hamstring injury sidelined him last week as he missed his first game of the campaign. He’s since been removed from the injury report, but these types of ailment can prove tricky —should fantasy managers start Quentin Johnston against the Colts in Week 7?
Analysis
It turns out a competent coaching staff and healthy quarterback are all it takes to unlock talent. A first-round selection by the Chargers in the 2023 NFL Draft, Johnston averaged just 5.5 FPPG in his first season during one of the most disappointing rookie seasons in recent memory. Thankfully, John Harbaugh and his staff figured out how to create opportunities for the young wideout when they took over in 2024 as Johnston posted 11.6 FPPG with over 700 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. Fast-forward another year, and he’s now racked up half that production in 1/3 of the games with 377 yards and four touchdowns across just five weeks of action. With 17.3 FPPG, he slots in as the WR12 in PPR formats… how’s that for a breakout?
Johnston was inactive last week for the win over the Dolphins with a hamstring issue, but he’s logged an entire week of practice since then (limited Wednesday and Thursday, full participant Friday) and finds himself off the injury report for the Week 7 tilt against the Colts. That bodes quite well for his status as it looks like he’ll be back in action on Sunday.
However, hamstring issues can prove notoriously tricky since there’s high risk of a flare-up when a player returns. Should fantasy managers feel worried about slotting him into lineups this weekend because of it?
Well, that’s tough to answer given how unpredictable injuries are in the NFL, but there’s room for some encouragement here. This is the first time Johnston’s dealt with such a hamstring issue during his pro career, and he’s been relatively healthy through his two-plus years in the league. His only major injuries prior to this at the pro level were a concussion in the preseason and an ankle sprain back in October of last season, so there’s not really a history of soft-tissue problems to worry about like with a player such as Mike Evans.
While anything can happen, fantasy players must assess their tolerance of risk as well as the rest of their lineup. If you’re banking on Johnston as one of your top-two wideouts in a must-win matchup with little quality depth, then you should absolutely start him. He boasts borderline WR1 production this year which is simply very difficult to replace. Now, if you have solid depth or have a winning record (or a stacked lineup elsewhere), then perhaps it’s understandable to err on the side of caution and start another player in his stead. Still, the old adage of nothing ventured, nothing gained rings true — upside wins fantasy matchups and as long as Justin Herbert is healthy, Johnston has more than most wide receivers.
