Week 8: Zion Johnson, Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Chargers offensive lineman Zion Johnson, who played at Riverdale Baptist School in Upper Marlboro, has been named the DC Touchdown Club Pro Football Player of the Week after the Chargers snapped a two-game losing streak with a 30-13 victory over the Chicago Bears on Sunday night.

Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert was not sacked once as the team hit the 30-point mark for the first team since the season opener.

Johnson, who was selected by the Chargers in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft, has started every game of his pro career. He played right guard last season but has moved to left guard this season.

“I think the sky is the limit [for the Los Angeles offensive line], we have a lot of talented guys,” Johnson said prior to the season. “The main thing for us is honing in on details and make sure when it comes to knowing the scheme, the technique and that edge in our mind, that mental and physical toughness.”

Johnson, who grew up in Bowie, was a bit of a late bloomer when it comes to football. He did not play the sport during his first two years of high school, taking it up only at the suggestion of a bus driver who took him home after school each day.

But after trading in high school golf for a football uniform, Johnson developed enough to play at Davidson College. He was an all-conference lineman at Davidson then transferred to Boston College, where he continued to mature into a standout lineman. He also excelled in the classroom, earning a place on the Military Bowl STEM Scholar-Athlete Program, continuing on the path that he had charted before football, when he wanted to be an engineer.