OTAs are right around the corner for the LA Chargers and that's not a good thing for everyone on the roster. The first real look at what the 2025 Chargers may look like may naturally lead some players to lose the edge they have at their particular position.
There is a lot of football between OTAs and Week 1 of the regular season but first impressions are everything. A bad showing at OTAs, coupled with a strong showing by another player, may plant the seed in Jim Harbaugh's head for actual roles come September.
For some Chargers starters, it's just a matter of time until they are demoted to a depth piece. That may happen as early as OTAs for three names in particular.
Chargers starters who may lose their jobs as early as OTAs:
1. WR Quentin Johnston
As it stands right now, in theory, Quentin Johnston is the starting Z receiver for the Chargers. Ladd McConkey is starting in the slot with second-round pick Tre Harris (who remains unsigned, by the way) starting at the X receiver.
However, while Harris is better suited for the X, he is perfectly capable to play the Z and that could be the direction the Chargers go if Johnston continues to struggle. The Chargers have the means to do this with Mike Williams in the building. Williams and Harris could play on the outside with McConkey in the slot.
Johnston has the advantage over the veteran Williams on day one but all it takes is more dropped passes for him to slide down the depth chart.
2. OL Bradley Bozeman
Might this be a tad bit too hopeful? Probably. Jim Harbaugh has a ton of respect for Bradley Bozeman and that respect has seemingly skewed the perception of him as a player. We're all for the leader he is in the locker room, but that doesn't change how he actually produces on the field.
Bozeman was one of the worst starting centers in the league last season. He ranked 17th among 19 centers with at least 600 pass-blocking snaps in Pro Football Focus' pass-blocking grade and checked in with the fourth-worst pass-block efficiency.
There is an effort to try Bozeman at left guard (where he has played before) and left guard Zion Johnson at center (where he has not played before). It's hard to imagine this experiment yielding drastically different results just by swapping the spots of two struggling offensive linemen.
Instead, in a perfect world, Johnson develops more at left guard while Andre James returns to form and starts at center. That may be the end result, and hopefully, that groundwork is laid during OTAs.
3. Denzel Perryman
Denzel Perryman will be extremely important to the Chargers' defense, even if he is not one of the two starters at linebacker. Perryman is a culture-setter and brings a level of physicality that radiates throughout the Chargers' defense.
Perryman is just competing for snaps with two young bucks whose arrows are pointing up. Daiyan Henley is a legitimate Pro Bowl candidate in his third season while the team is also expecting big things out of second-year linebacker Junior Colson.
Perryman will still receive plenty of playing time as the third linebacker on the depth chart. Just don't be surprised if the two young linebackers emerge as the obvious starters after OTAs.