EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — The news conference room at the Los Angeles Chargers’ new facility has off-white ceramic tile floors.
Late Wednesday morning, after the Chargers concluded their opening practice of training camp, the recognizable click, clack of cleats hitting a hard surface reverberated off the walls as the first member of the team walked to the podium.
Not a player. Coach Jim Harbaugh.
“It feels like being born,” Harbaugh said of starting camp, black cleats with blue studs on his feet. “It feels like coming out of the womb. You’re in there and it’s comfortable, it’s safe. And now, poof, you’re out, you’re born, the lights are on, it’s bright. You’ve got chaos, people looking at you, people talking at you.”
day 1 feels like new year’s day pic.twitter.com/vu6XFFguEK
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) July 24, 2024
Camp is underway. The Chargers held a shorter practice Wednesday, finishing up in less than an hour and a half. They are scheduled for three more practices this week before an off day Sunday.
Here are my observations from the opener.
After an underwhelming rookie season, receiver Quentin Johnson is facing a pivotal training camp. The Chargers, of course, moved on from Keenan Allen and Mike Williams in the offseason. Without those two top targets on the roster, there will be opportunities for other receivers — both returning players and newcomers. Johnston has a chance to carve out a role if he can show improvement from Year 1 to Year 2.
Wednesday was a promising first step.
Johnston caught three passes on four targets from Justin Herbert in Wednesday’s practice. He looked sharper coming out of his breaks, which allowed him to create more separation. The first completion came on an out route on a third down. Later in practice, Johnston had two catches in one series. One was another out route. The other came on a dig, and Johnston beat cornerback Chris Wilcox.
Free, daily NFL updates direct to your inbox. Sign up
Free, daily NFL updates direct to your inbox. Sign up
Buy
Herbert’s first attempt to Johnston was the only incompletion. Johnston lost his balance at the top of the route — it looked like he may have gotten his feet caught up in the defensive back’s feet — and that threw off the timing. But Herbert went back to Johnston after the initial mixup, and he repaid his quarterback.
“I just think he got a bad rap,” Harbaugh said of Johnston’s rookie season. “I look at some of the clips coming out of training camp last year. Whatever it was, it just seemed like in somebody’s mind he was a disappointment. He hasn’t been that at all in my eyes.”
The receiver room will be competitive. The Chargers drafted three receivers, including second-round pick Ladd McConkey. They signed DJ Chark in free agency. Joshua Palmer, Simi Fehoko and Derius Davis are back. Johnston will have to stack days like these to earn the trust of Herbert and the coaching staff.
“I see big, fast, strong, getting stronger,” Harbaugh said. “I think that’s a piece that’s really been addressed in the offseason with coach (Ben) Herbert. And Quentin, just getting stronger to go with that. With that speed, the agility, his ability to catch the ball, he plucks it out of the air. He’s as good as anybody doing it. But then combining that speed and agility, getting that strength component to go along with it, he’s going to be a problem. He’s going to be a problem for people.”
Rookie cornerback Cam Hart made the play of the day for the defense. Hart was matched up on the outside with rookie receiver Jaylen Johnson. Backup quarterback Easton Stick took the snap and saw Johnson one-on-one with Hart on a go route. Stick floated a deep ball down the right sideline.
Hart had inside position. He shielded Johnson and came down with the interception.
cam was allll over that pic.twitter.com/Gvx7Nt98CG
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) July 24, 2024
A fifth-round pick in April, Hart is 6-foot-3 and brings considerable size and length at cornerback. Johnson is also 6-foot-2. Hart used his size in this situation to make a play on the ball.
“He looks like a basketball player out there, he’s so long,” safety Derwin James Jr. said of Hart after practice.
The Chargers stuck with their same first-team grouping at cornerback in Wednesday’s practice — Asante Samuel Jr. and Kristian Fulton on the outside with Ja’Sir Taylor in the slot. When James moved to the slot, AJ Finley came on at safety to replace him.
Samuel also had a good practice, playing sticky coverage on two deep-ball attempts from Stick. Samuel was in coverage on Davis on the first and rookie Brenden Rice on the second.
Fulton played opposite Samuel during the spring, and he is in line to start at that spot outside.
The Chargers need to build depth in the cornerback room, both inside and outside. Hart’s interception was evidence that he can turn his impressive physical tools into playmaking at the NFL level.
“We look at him and go, ‘You’ve got the license and the ability to go a long way in this game,’” Harbaugh said of Hart. “He’s right on track.”
News and notes
• Rookie linebacker Junior Colson was placed on the non-football illness list last week. Harbaugh revealed Wednesday that Colson had appendicitis. Harbaugh did not provide a timetable for Colson’s return to practice.
• Running back Gus Edwards participated in individual drills Wednesday but did not participate in team drills. Edwards did not practice in the spring. Harbaugh said Wednesday that Edwards is coming off an offseason surgery. “Some of those guys that are coming off of an injury … as they’re being released back into the wild, we’re doing it judiciously,” Harbaugh said.
GO DEEPER
Chargers free-agent film review: Gus Edwards, J.K. Dobbins bring overhaul at running back
• Rookie offensive lineman Karsen Barnhart did not practice Wednesday. Harbaugh said he is “working through something.”
• The first-team offensive line remained the same as it was to end the spring: left tackle Rashawn Slater, left guard Zion Johnson, center Bradley Bozeman, right guard Trey Pipkins III, right tackle Joe Alt. The second-team offensive line started as left tackle Foster Sarell, left guard Jordan McFadden, center Brenden Jaimes, right guard Jamaree Salyer and right tackle Alex Leatherwood. Salyer kicked out to right tackle with Leatherwood moving into right guard later in practice.
• The intensity of practice picked up in the final period. Harbaugh said there were multiple “tempo violations” during the final period, when the first-team offense went up against the first-team defense.
“We had a receiver going to make a catch, and then a DB playing through the body or landing on top of them as they’re going to the ground,” Harbaugh said. “They came in a flurry, right at the end, that last period there.”
Chark was shaken up after making a catch over the middle in that final period.
Harbaugh said he does not want receivers diving for balls or even leaping for high throws without pads on because of the injury risk. Palmer made a sliding catch in the red zone on a throw from Herbert. Harbaugh said he “pointed out” some of these tempo violations in his meeting with the players after practice.
“Take it as a compliment,” Harbaugh said. “Some guys you got to pull back and some guys you got to talk into. Definitely we’re striving for being pulled back.”
slidin’ through pic.twitter.com/NI4rwPfFsI
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) July 24, 2024
• Veteran safety Tony Jefferson, who the Chargers signed after a tryout during minicamp in June, had an interception in seven-on-seven. Third-string quarterback Max Duggan overthrew his receiver, and Jefferson was in position to haul in the pick.
• Denzel Perryman and Daiyan Henley were the first-team inside linebackers. Poona Ford and Scott Matlock were the interior defensive linemen with the first team in the opening 11-on-11 period. Christopher Hinton and Morgan Fox also worked in with the first team.
• The Chargers were moving McFadden around often on offense. He was in with the second team at left guard. But he also got snaps with the first team as a jumbo tight end and in the backfield as a fullback. McFadden even went in motion on one snap. Offensive coordinator Greg Roman will be looking for creative ways to use his blockers in the run game. McFadden is a really athletic lineman. He was used as a fullback at times in last year’s offense.
(Photo of Quentin Johnston: Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press)
