Chargers Training Camp: Justin Herbert Is Poised for a Big Year

Los Angeles’s receiver room has no lack of talent for the fourth-year quarterback to work with.

Front end of two Saturday camps for me, this one with the Chargers in Costa Mesa. Here’s what we got …

• Justin Herbert’s been locked in through two weeks of camp—playing fast and confident, throwing an accurate ball and finding his voice as a leader. There’s very little question here either that he fits new coordinator Kellen Moore’s scheme, which is built to force the defense to cover every blade of grass out there, something that, on paper, should unlock Herbert as a quarterback. And maybe the way that’s shown itself most is in how aggressive the fourth-year man has been pushing the ball down the field. The feeling here is he’s in for a very, very big year.

With a talented receiving corps to work with, Justin Herbert could be in for a big year :: Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports

• What’s around Herbert should be improved too. The line is much healthier than it was a year ago and, if that health is maintained, that area should become a strength (especially if Zion Johnson takes the step the Chargers expect him to). And the feeling in camp is that, with the addition of impressive rookie Quentin Johnston, the receiver room should be the NFL’s best. Of course, this is another area where health is a variable. But everyone knows what Keenan Allen and Mike Williams are capable of, and Josh Palmer’s put together another rock solid camp, coming off a 70-catch season. Which is to say, as usual, talent is not an issue with this team.

• There are two areas, though, that need some work through the rest of camp. One is at tight end, where Gerald Everett, Donald Parham and Stone Smartt are vying for the starting job. All three guys are adept in the passing game. So what’s likely to determine which one plays, particularly with so many options at receiver, is who’s the best blocker in the run game. And the other spot to watch would be the interior of the defensive line, where Austin Johnson’s return will help, and the team is trying to develop a little more depth. The run defense could be a question otherwise.

• Eric Kendricks came in highly recommended by, well, just about everyone. Kendricks had been with Jonathan Gannon, Kevin O’Connell, Ed Donatell, Wes Phillips, Justin Rascati and Chris Rumph—all good friends of Brandon Staley—as well as Chargers linebackers coach Jeff Howard. Kendricks also had an hour-long talk with Staley, over the phone from his vacation in Hawai’i back in March, just before signing. So the institutional knowledge the team had was deep and Kendricks hasn’t disappointed. The 31-year-old has been a missile out there in the middle of the defense. And his presence has helped the team get a little more out of former first-round pick Kenneth Murray, who’s had a really nice summer after having his fifth-year option declined by the team in the spring.

• Asante Samuel is another young vet who’s taking a step—he’s gotten his hands on the ball a lot through camp, and looks like he’s ready to take advantage of chances created by what should be, again, health-permitting, one of the NFL’s best pass-rush tandems, in Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack.