Week 2 of Chargers Organized Team Activity practices are underway.
The Chargers held their fourth voluntary OTA practice of the offseason Tuesday afternoon, donning helmets and shorts for 90-plus minutes. It was the second practice fully open to media members.
OTAs are part of Phase Three in the voluntary offseason program. Phase Three consists of a maximum of 10 OTA practices where teams can run 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills. Live contact is not allowed.
Here are three observations from the Chargers OTA practice on Tuesday:
1. Herbert shows off arm
Justin Herbert ranked fourth in air yards at 8.6 among quarterbacks with at least 500 snaps in 2024.
That's another way of saying Herbert wasn't afraid to push the ball down the field.
Which is exactly what we saw at Tuesday's practice.
Herbert let loose during a 7-on-7 drill when he found Jalen Reagor on a deep pass down the right sideline for 40-plus yards. Three players later, Brenden Rice was on the receiving end of another big pass play down the middle of the field.
Granted, since live contact is not allowed, nearby defenders appeared to ease off in coverage at the last second. But Herbert's willingness to push the envelope was certainly noticeable.
In terms of the protection in front of Herbert, the Chargers tried out a few different offensive line combinations on Tuesday.
The initial line in position drills consisted of, from left to right, Trey Pipkins III, Bradley Bozeman, Zion Johnson, Mekhi Becton and Joe Alt.
But with Pipkins not participating in team drills, Jamaree Salyer stepped in at left tackle for the majority of practice. The rest of the line stayed intact with Johnson at center and Bozeman at left guard.
Those are the two spots that appear up for grabs at this point of the offseason. Johnson has played both guard spots over three seasons but is making the transition to center. Bozeman, the Chargers starting center in 2024, started 32 games at left guard for Baltimore in 2019 and 2020.
The second-team offensive line, from left to right, was made up of Corey Stewart, Branson Taylor, Andre James, Karsen Barnhart and Tyler McLellan.