That's not good, but failing to catch a contested catch does not equate to a drop.
Fair enough.
I’ll take a mile high approach: what I saw of QJ in no way resembled an alpha or future WR1 for RL or FF.
I agree, and that is definitely a concern. But there have been plenty of NFL WRs who went on to play much better in year 2 or later than thy did as a rookie.
The Chargers have had a few others, like Mike Williams, Tyrell Williams, Vincent Jackson, Anthony Miller, Wes Chandler, and Charlie Joiner. That is going back a long way for some of those, but not all, and I'm sure there have been a number of cases in recent years across the NFL, such as Adams as was mentioned.
Importantly, IMO the competency level of the coaching staff has been increased significantly. That combined with Johnston having a tough rookie year behind him and no Allen or Williams in front of him certainly creates a possibility that he can take a big step forward in 2024. I am hoping for that.
I'm not saying I would buy high on him, but I would buy low and would not sell low if I owned him.