The biggest winners of the first week of LA Chargers training camp
By Jason Reed
We are officially a week into Chargers training camp and while we still have a long way to go until the Bolts play meaningful games, it has been great to see the team back in action. Fans have shown up to camp in droves as the Bolts are entering one of the most exciting seasons in franchise history.
Fans are not going to learn everything about the team after just one week of training camp but this first week is the foundation of what we can expect moving forward. Both from a team sense and an individual sense, there have been some surprises in this first week.
Some players have really taken this first week in stride while others have struggled to find their footing thus far. In this article, we will dive into the former and explore the biggest winners thus far.
Here are the 4 biggest winners of the first week of Chargers training camp:
Zion Johnson
We all knew that Zion Johnson was a polished product coming into the league as the Bolts selected the best guard in the 2022 draft class with the 17th overall pick. However, there is always expected to be some kind of rookie curve, especially in camp, and it would have been understandable if Johnson struggled early.
That has not been the case at all thus far. Every member of the Chargers who has talked about Johnson during camp has raved about him as he is holding his own against the rebuilt Chargers defensive line.
Not only that, but Daniel Popper of The Athletic compared his first impressions of Johnson to that of Rashawn Slater last year. We don't want to put too high of expectations on Johnson but Slater was one of the best tackles in the league in 2021 and was a Second Team All-Pro.