I’ve been so happy for QJ when he has been used in games the right way and he has been able to do something with it, but the guy’s chances are all used up. If he is a starter anywhere next year I’ll be shocked.
I am the guy who defends everybody on the damn team because I only want positivity surrounding them. I don’t like risking even the small chance that they don’t perform well because some a-hole online said something shitty about him. So it absolutely kills me to even write this just on the off-chance that the guy sees it, but…
QJ just doesn’t have it. He just doesn’t. 186 yards against a raiders team that couldn’t be bothered to cover him for real? Okay, yes, he did have that awesome sideline snag he somehow actually reeled in, but it was the first time ever in all his contested or challenging catching opportunities that he actually came down with it. That’s great for him, but not great if you’re a first round pick in the pros and at the end of your second year getting first team reps. That game was a fluke, not the start of a new trend for him.
QJ has no killer mentality. He is NOT a killer. Meanwhile, (fellow 2023 chargers WR draftee out of TCU) Darius Davis has returned kicks for TDs and holy shit did he lay out for that TD against the Patriots.
And Q’s lack of killer instinct was confirmed for me, weirdly, when I saw Q in a video the team posted last year where he played Madden against Darius. DD smoked Q, and I know it’s a video game, but the way the whole thing played out just said so much. QJ has the body of a killer, but not the mind of one. DD has the mind of one, but not the body. Turns out the mind is more important. Same reason 6’0” Ladd blew everyone away this year.
You have to battle in the NFL. You have to fight. You have to not let a smaller defender push you off your route on 4th and fucking short when your team needs you. You have to get to the first down marker. You have to catch the fucking ball. If you can’t do that, you just don’t belong among starters in the pros.