Zion Johnson has become a hot topic of conversation around the LA Chargers during training camp. The 2022 first-round pick has not lived up to his first-round billing this point in his career, leading the Chargers to decline his fifth-year rookie option and experiment with a position change.
Johnson was been getting reps at center as the Chargers try and figure out what the interior offensive line will look like. Last year's starting center, Bradley Bozeman, is also part of this equation. Bozeman and Johnson have been trading off snaps at left guard and center with no real clarity on who might play where.
The Chargers finally gave fans more clarity during Monday's practice and it was nothing short of bad news for Johnson. Johnson was completely booted out of the first-team reps entirely, instead resorting to second-team reps at center while Jamaree Salyer took his place on the interior.
Looks like first team OL today will be: LT Rashawn Slater, LG Jamaree Salyer, C Bradley Bozeman, RG Mekhi Becton, RT Joe Alt. Zion Johnson at C with the second team OL. Andre James at C with the third team.
— Daniel Popper (@danielrpopper) July 28, 2025
Chargers send Zion Johnson a wake-up call during training camp
This is not a great look for Johnson, who has been hit-and-miss in his reps at the center position. While one practice doesn't outright show the exact order of the offensive line, the fact that Johnson isn't even getting first-team reps is telling.
This sends a multi-tiered message to Johnson. It shows that Bozeman is arguably winning the center battle and that Johnson is not where the team needs him to start at center. This also may indicate that Johnson is losing ground to Andre James, who is suddenly emerging as a standout at camp.
The Chargers clearly want Johnson to get more reps at center than guard by making this switch. Instead of having Johnson take reps at left guard in the starting unit, there was more value in having him work with the backups. This may indicate that it is center or bust for Johnson, which is a bad place to be in.
If it is truly center or bust, then there is a world in which Johnson isn't even starting in 2025. Bozeman could beat him out for the starting center spot with Salyer emerging as a threat to play left guard. After all, the Chargers coaching staff has been raving about Salyer and the shape he is in during camp.
Johnson controls his own destiny as he will need to turn his camp around if he wants to be in the starting lineup in a contract season. Anything can happen, and perhaps Johnson does turn a corner and proves he is a starting-caliber offensive lineman.
However, the Chargers are making their feelings abundantly clear on Johnson; the first-round pick is not going to get a starting spot simply because of his draft priors. He will have to earn every single snap he gets, and right now, he is earning snaps with the second team.