5 Players That Stood Out In Preseason Opener vs. Rams

The Chargers played their first preseason game of 2022 on Saturday night at SoFi Stadium.

Here are five players that stood out against the Rams:

Rookie Zion Johnson more than held his own in his first NFL action. Although he only played in the first three drives, the rookie held strong in both the run and pass plays.

“It was a good opportunity to go against other guys than the guys on our team,” Johnson said about his preseason action. “We’ve been practicing against each other for the last few weeks but to get to go against other guys on a different team was good.

“Our guys have given us a good challenge in practice to be ready for this team,” Johnson said.

Chargers Head Coach Brandon Staley added: “It was good to get him out there. Similar to [T] Rashawn [Slater] last year, just get out there, get in the fire with your teammates, and be able to go operate for a quarter. That was our goal for him tonight. I know that he was glad that he was out there. I think he’ll learn a lot from this.”

The game did not feel fast for Johnson, as he mentioned that he felt the staff prepared him well. Up next for the rookie guard are joint practices against the Dallas Cowboys on Wednesday and Thursday — something that will allow him to get more experience playing against other rushers at the NFL level.