SAN DIEGO — The Los Angeles Chargers’ receiver battle is raging on, and Day 6 of training camp featured some rather significant movement — positive and negative — as players jostle for snaps alongside star slot Ladd McConkey.
Quentin Johnston looked like a different player through the first five days of camp. He had five touchdowns in those practices. Most notably, his ball-tracking looked vastly improved on throws down the field that came in over his shoulder — something he had struggled with at times in his career. Wednesday’s practice, the Chargers’ second and final at the University of San Diego, was a step back for Johnston.
In seven-on-seven drills, Johnston came wide open over the middle on a dig route. The offense faced a third-and-10. Quarterback Justin Herbert hit Johnston in the chest. Johnston dropped the pass. It was reminiscent of his third-down drop in a loss to the Baltimore Ravens last season. These are the types of lapses Johnston absolutely must eradicate from his game. That they are still happening in his third season is concerning.
“Every play is not going to be perfect,” offensive coordinator Greg Roman said of the play. “There’s going to be a drop here and there. I asked him what happened, and he gave me the exact right answer from a fundamental standpoint.”
Johnston came back later in practice and made two catches from Herbert in 11-on-11. But the confidence he was playing with in earlier practices seemed to have dissipated. He caught a third-down slant short of the marker. Three plays later, he came down with a shallow catch to the right, but he had to pin the ball against his legs to secure it.
“When he’s just going out there and being loose, playing natural and just playing his game,” McConkey said, “there’s not many people that have the athletic ability and the quickness and power that Q does.”
Jalen Reagor had been playing consistently with the first-team offense as an outside receiver through the first five practices. He did not participate in Wednesday’s practice. Reagor appeared to tweak something in his lower half during Tuesday’s padded practice.
That gave rookie Tre’ Harris more opportunities with the first team in 11-on-11. Harris had an up-and-down day. On a fourth-and-2, he came open on an out route to the left sideline. Herbert hit Harris for the conversion. Earlier in practice, though, Harris was one-on-one with cornerback Ja’Sir Taylor on a third-and-3 slant route. Taylor was in tight coverage. Quarterback Taylor Heinicke threw an accurate pass. Harris was not able to come up with the catch, with Taylor challenging the ball.
It was rookie fifth-round pick KeAndre Lambert-Smith who elevated his stock the most in Wednesday’s practice. In seven-on-seven, Lambert-Smith ran a go route down the left sideline against cornerback Deane Leonard. Quarterback Trey Lance’s attempt to Lambert-Smith was slightly underthrown. Lambert-Smith turned, located the ball and made an impressive adjustment before high-pointing the catch in front of Leonard.
big play dre pic.twitter.com/CdBhKDBFZ3
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) July 23, 2025
Later in practice, this time in 11-on-11, Lambert-Smith made another notable adjustment on a deep ball from Lance. On a fourth-and-5, Lambert-Smith ran a go route on cornerback Cam Hart. Lance threw this shot to Lambert-Smith’s back shoulder. Lambert-Smith slowed his sprint and rotated his body to make the catch while falling to the turf. Linebacker Daiyan Henley had a sack on this play on a blitz, but the coaches let the play continue.
“He made a couple adjustments today on the ball that you can’t coach,” Roman said of Lambert-Smith.
Lambert-Smith also had a catch on an out route in seven-on-seven, beating Leonard. Lambert-Smith missed most of the spring with an injury. But he has a really intriguing skill set, including deep-field speed, natural hands and elite body control.
“We didn’t have a whole lot of time with him (in the spring),” Roman said. “But right now, I’m really fired up about his progress.”
McConkey is going to be a focal point of Roman’s offense. McConkey’s chemistry with Herbert is continuing to blossom in Year 2. McConkey and Herbert have been showcasing a seemingly telepathic connection. McConkey knows when to sit routes down against certain looks, when to manipulate defensive leverages, when to expect the ball from Herbert on a certain shoulder.
On Tuesday, for example, McConkey was running a crossing route off play action. He slowed his route down as he entered a vacated zone between linebacker Denzel Perryman and safety Alohi Gilman. Herbert fired to McConkey’s inside shoulder, and McConkey was able to make the catch in traffic.
“Those next-level type things,” as Roman said.
Coach Jim Harbaugh said this week that McConkey “is uncoverable right now by one guy.”
To get the absolute most out of McConkey, the Chargers need outside receivers who can truly threaten defenses.
The opportunity is there for the taking.
“The culture within the wide receiver room is exactly what we’re looking for,” Roman said.
News and notes
• Other Chargers who did not practice Wednesday: tackle Rashawn Slater, cornerback Donte Jackson, safety Tony Jefferson, cornerback Benjamin St-Juste, running back Raheim Sanders, receiver Luke Grimm and edge rusher Kylan Guidry.
• Slater has not practiced since Friday. The first-team offensive line Wednesday: LT Joe Alt, LG Bradley Bozeman, C Zion Johnson, RG Mekhi Becton, RT Trey Pipkins III.
• Johnson and Bozeman have been rotating between left guard and center each day. Johnson has yet to play center in 11-on-11 during a padded practice. Wednesday’s practice was unpadded. The Chargers are back in pads Thursday when they return to The Bolt in Los Angeles. Roman said the Chargers will likely disrupt the day-by-day rotation with Bozeman and Johnson to make sure Johnson gets a padded day at center.
If they continue on the current rotation, Bozeman would be at center Thursday, while Johnson would be at left guard. Johnson would be back at center for Friday’s unpadded practice. Bozeman would be at center for Saturday’s padded practice, and Johnson would then get his first padded practice at center Monday — the Chargers’ 10th practice of camp.
That means Johnson could be at center Thursday, or he could be at center Saturday.
• Rookie running back Omarion Hampton was working at kick returner during a special teams period. Hampton had a drop in 11-on-11 drills while working with the first-team offense. He was open on an angle route out of the backfield but could not handle the Herbert pass.
• Receiver Brenden Rice also had a drop in seven-on-seven. He had slight separation on cornerback Tarheeb Still on a go route down the right sideline. Herbert dropped his throw into a bucket, but Rice could not make the catch.
• Rookie tight end Stevo Klotz had one of the plays of the day on offense. He made a diving catch on a slant route to successfully convert a third-and-3. Heinicke delivered the throw.
• Taylor is having a really solid camp and feels firmly on the 53-man roster. He had two more forced incompletions in Wednesday’s practice, including the third-down coverage on Harris. Later in practice, Taylor was locked on receiver Dez Fitzpatrick down the right sideline in the red zone. Fitzpatrick ran out of room on a back shoulder throw from Heinicke, and the ball deflected out of bounds.
• Safety Derwin James Jr. got his hands on a Lance pass on a third-down blitz from the nickel position. James is highly disruptive when he can align in these positions close to the line of scrimmage. Lance tried to get rid of he ball quickly on a throw down the line of scrimmage to Fitzpatrick. James got a great jump at the snap and was in the backfield before Lance released the throw. James deflected it and forced the incompletion.
(Photo of KeAndre Lambert-Smith: Kirby Lee / Imagn Images)
