One of the top 2023 NFL Draft prospects reportedly wasn’t invited to attend the upcoming event in Kansas City, Missouri in 12 days.
According to a report from Garrett Podell of CBS Sports, TCU wideout Quentin Johnston wasn’t invited to appear at the draft for a strange reason: The NFL doesn’t want to make things awkward by showing Johnston on the broadcast in case he ends up going undrafted on day one.
Podell added that fellow 2023 WR draft prospects in Jaxon Smith-Njigba (Ohio State), Zay Flowers (Boston College) and Jordan Addison (USC) were invited to the event:
“A number of highly-touted NFL prospects who appeared to be early first-round locks throughout their pre-draft lead-ups — notably quarterbacks Aaron Rodgers (the 24th overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft) and Lamar Jackson (the 32nd overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft — fell to the back half of their draft’s opening round. This also could be the case for TCU wide receiver Quentin Johnston, who wasn’t invited to attend the 2023 NFL Draft in Kansas City on April 27, a source close to Johnston tells CBS Sports. The players at his position who are attending the draft are Ohio State’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Boston College’s Zay Flowers, and USC’s Jordan Addison.
The reason Johnston didn’t get an invitation appears to be that the NFL is looking to spare him the Rodgers or Jackson treatment, where the television cameras continue cutting to Johnston and his table during a slide down as the first round gets underway. Johnston did receive feedback from the league that he is still projected to be a first-round pick, the source said. However, the range for his likely selection at this moment appears to be in the “20-28″ pick range.”
You may recall that back in 2005, many thought Rodgers would be the first overall pick. But the San Francisco 49ers wound up taking Utah signal-caller Alex Smith with the selection. Even more surprisingly, Rodgers didn’t go until the 24th spot by a Green Bay Packers team that already had Brett Favre.
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Things obviously worked out just fine for Rodgers over the long run. And he wound up offering this memorable soundbite that aged quite well for the four-time league MVP:
In his final season with the Horned Frogs, Johnston racked up 60 receptions for 1,069 yards and six touchdowns. Johnston helped TCU to a surprise trip to the national championship game, where they fellow to the defending champion Georgia Bulldogs.
Many scouts and analysts project Johnston to be the first receiver taken off the board, so it’s definitely interesting that the NFL opted not to invite him to the draft. Regardless, whichever team takes Johnston will come away with a very promising young talent to bolster their offense.
