Johnston did not record a catch on his two targets in a 20-17 loss to the Cowboys on Monday.
There was hope the Chargers would use their early Week 5 bye to assimilate the rookie into the offense with Mike Williams (knee) out for the season, but that optimism was quickly erased as the combination of Keenan Allen and Joshua Palmer accounted for 18 of Justin Herbert's 37 pass attempts in Monday's loss. To make matters worse for Johnston's fantasy managers, Austin Ekeler returned to his typical pass-catching role after a multi-game absence and recorded four catches on six targets for 35 yards, leaving few opportunities for Johnston. The TCU standout's playing time continues to ever-so-gradually trend up, but the 22-year-old is going to need to actually do something with the increased workload to be worth having active on fantasy rosters.