Chargers Experimenting Moving Four-Year Starter to Center
The 2024 season exposed the new Los Angeles Chargers offensive line. The Chargers selected Joe Alt in the draft and had him playing right tackle, which worked exceptionally well. Jim Harbaugh’s vision of a dominant powerful line seemed to be coming true. Trey Pipkins was moved to right guard, a position he had never played in the NFL while veteran Bradley Bozeman was brought in to be the new center for the team. However, these two moves were disastrous, to say the least as the interior of the offensive line was leaky all the time. Opposing defensive lines generated most of their pressure through the interior offensive line of the Bolts, causing Justin Herbert to be the seventh-most-sacked quarterback in 2024.
One of the more underwhelming parts of the offensive line for the Chargers was left guard Zion Johnson. The former first-round pick in 2022 out of Boston College has shown flashes of being a great interior lineman in this league but has also struggled continuously. Johnson has been amazing when pushing defensive linemen and moving down the field. He and Rashawn Slater have been great in sealing the left side of the line for running backs to take advantage of. However, Johnson has faced problems is in pass protection. He allowed 33 pressures in 2024 and five sacks.
Harbaugh and Joe Hortiz have seemed to notice Johnson’s struggles at left guard. They recently shared with the media that Johnson will be getting reps at center this offseason. This decision is very interesting since the Chargers re-signed Bozeman and signed Andre James in free agency this year. As Harbaugh would say, competitors are welcome. Three players may be competing for a starting center role in 2025. Johnson has never played center in the NFL but the switch could be beneficial. The missed blocking assignments that Johnson would have at left guard could be mitigated at center if he is the one calling the shots. If the switch to center does work, the Chargers could hand the left guard position to Pipkins, a rookie in the 2025 Draft, or a remaining free agent. If Johnson does not win the starting position, he will slide back to his natural position and hope to improve in what would be his fourth season.
