Ducks Digest

Ranking Los Angeles Chargers' Justin Herbert Among NFL Quarterbacks

After a regular season run, the Los Angeles Chargers made the NFL playoffs in the first season of the Jim Harbaugh era. Due to his stellar play at quarterback, Justin Herbert was named one of the NFL's top 100 players at number 33.

Kyron Samuels

Dec 28, 2024; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert (10) passes the ball against the New England Patriots in the first quarter at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images
Dec 28, 2024; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert (10) passes the ball against the New England Patriots in the first quarter at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images / David Butler II-Imagn Images
In this story:

Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert is one of the more polarizing players in all of professional football. The former Oregon Duck signal-caller is as accomplished of a player statistically as any quarterback in NFL history. This past season, he broke NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning’s record for the most passing yards through five seasons in NFL history. Herbert sits at 21,093 passing yards and 137 passing touchdowns to 47 interceptions.

During the 2024 season, with a new coaching staff, fewer weapons than he’s ever had at the skill group, and an offensive line that underwent various changes over the year, Herbert threw for 3,870 passing yards, 23 passing touchdowns, and only three interceptions. Pro Football Focus has just released their top-100 players list from the 2024 NFL season, and Herbert, to the surprise of many, comes in at number 33.

“If Herbert's 2024 season taught us anything, it's that success is about how you finish, not how you start. Through Week 6, he ranked 29th in the NFL with a 58.2 passing grade. From Week 7 onward, however, he flipped the script, posting a 92.6 passing grade-the second-highest in the league over that span-while leading the NFL with 26 big-time throws to close out the regular season.” PFF said. 

Herbert’s season should be graded through a different lens than his previous campaigns. While the numbers were good and efficient all around, they pale in comparison to his best statistical outputs. However, if you turn in the film, he undoubtedly carried the Chargers more than he ever has. Not many expected that team to be in the playoffs during the first season of the Jim Harbaugh era. Still, the match proved to be a solid fusion, and win ball games. 

Other quarterbacks topped the list like Baltimore's Lamar Jackson (No. 1), Cincinnati's Joe Burrow (No. 4), Buffalo's Josh Allen (No. 6), and Washington's Jayden Daniels (No. 20).

MORE: Oregon Ducks Upset No. 11 Wisconsin Badgers: NCAA Tournament Implications

MORE: Oregon Ducks To Land No. 1 Quarterback Recruit Jared Curtis Over Georgia Bulldogs?

MORE: Oregon Ducks' Dillon Gabriel Gaining On Shedeur Sanders, Cam Ward Before NFL Draft?

"The arm talent, the stature, the way he processes information, dissemination, his leadership ability," Los Angeles Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh said early in the season of Hebert. "I mean even the fierceness with the way he competes. I thought I was a competitor. Just the way he goes about his daily business."

The Chargers have to make upgrades on the offensive side of the ball. The current model for winning is unsustainable, as seen in the late-season matchup with the Baltimore Ravens and the playoff matchup against the Houston Texans. The ship is currently built to be steered almost entirely by Hebert, and when the handles are loose, Herbert gets all the blame.

Herbert still finds a way more times than not, which is why he’s as accomplished as he is and continually finds himself very high on year-end lists such as this, but if the Los Angeles Chargers want to cash in on Herbert’s greatness, they’ll have to help him get over the hump with sufficient pieces. Look for the Chargers to make a splash in free agency and the draft.

Recommended Articles

Published |Modified
Kyron Samuels
KYRON SAMUELS

Home/Football