Chargers Training Camp: Justin Herbert Displaying Veteran Tendencies in New Offense

The fourth-year quarterback is showing a new level of pre-snap command, along with the unleashing of downfield passing under OC Kellen Moore.

Justin Herbert worked his way down from one side of the fence to the other end, signing as many autographs as he could for the fans who attended the Chargers’ training camp practice Friday in Costa Mesa, Calif.

A few team buses had left by the time Herbert was done signing autographs, but of course, the Chargers had at least one bus waiting for their star quarterback. Before entering the bus, Herbert was stopped by a young fan who asked if he would sign his guitar.

Herbert gladly obliged, and will likely continue signing several autographs for the remainder of training camp. But his most notable signing occurred before training camp, when he put pen to paper on his massive five-year, $262.5 million contract extension with Los Angeles.

Clearly, life-changing money hasn't changed Herbert. But on the field, there were a few changes I noticed during my visit with the Chargers, the fourth stop of my nine-team training camp tour.

Herbert is learning a new offense with the arrival of new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, whose scheme will likely be designed for Herbert to access many parts of the field. And yes, that includes a good amount of deep shots.

Here’s what stood out during my stop in Orange County.

Best play I saw: The Chargers have a good problem to have with multiple wide receivers capable of starting this season next to Keenan Allen and Mike Williams.

Josh Palmer, a 2021 third-round pick, appeared to be the odd man out after the team drafted Quentin Johnston with its first pick this year. But Palmer isn’t going down without a fight. He’s having a strong camp, and made the highlight play from Friday after jumping for a deep pass from Herbert that went over the head of cornerback Asante Samuel Jr. near the right side of the end zone.

one-hander??? more like one-palmer pic.twitter.com/3smoLoLUNa

— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) August 1, 2023

Palmer followed with a nice touchdown dance before taking a bear hug from Herbert. The Chargers will likely create snaps for Palmer, despite the logjam at the position.

Best thing I heard: There was something different about Herbert, and it wasn’t all the deep passes he unleashed throughout practice. (Again, Chargers fans should be really excited about Moore’s offensive scheme).

Thanks to running back Austin Ekeler, I remembered how quickly Herbert was attacking various parts of the field with a variety of players, not just his top two stud wideouts Allen and Williams. If Herbert noticed a matchup he liked or an area of the defense he wanted to expose, the fourth-year QB switched plays and trusted his teammates, throwing passes to tight end Tre’ McKitty and wide receivers John Hightower and Keelan Doss.

Ekeler compared Herbert’s command of the offense to Philip Rivers, with whom Ekeler played for three seasons. The game is starting to slow down for Herbert and that’s bad news for the rest of the league.

“In my opinion, this has been his biggest step, as far as understanding the game,” Ekeler said. “Me hearing him out there, he understands the protections now. He’s seeing it. He’s switching the calls. Not that he hasn’t in the past, but now he’s really on it right away.

“For instance, we had a look today when it was five bigs down. It looked like one of our slot [coverage defenders] was coming off the edge. He’s like [alerting]. I’m like, ‘I see him, I got him. You can stay in five down here.’ He’s like, ‘Good.’

“That communication in the backfield that we used to have with Philip [Rivers]. He was like 17 years in, but I’m starting to see it with Herbert right now, and him really running it. We had an offensive possession today where we were on the ball, he’s calling the plays from the line of scrimmage, mixing in play counts. I can start to see him really maturing into a veteran quarterback, which is amazing.”

The rookie who caught my eye: Herbert called Johnston’s number often. The No. 21 pick from TCU broke free on a go route for a long gain down the right sideline. He also made a few plays in the intermediate game, displaying his versatility.

But for Johnston to earn a starting job, Moore wants to see him progress with the mental details on the field.

“The physical stuff, I think, will take care of itself,” Moore said. “We got him here for a reason. We see all that stuff. We're pretty good there. I think it's just the alignment, all the communication stuff, making sure you're dialed in on your assignment and all that.”

Veteran who caught my eye: Samuel was beat by Palmer for the best play of the day, but the third-year cornerback made a handful of plays vs. the Chargers’ wideouts.

Samuel batted a pass intended for Allen, and he broke up a downfield pass for Williams, which forced the Chargers’ wide receivers to do push ups for failing to score.

The team is counting on Samuel to take steps forward, especially with J.C. Jackson slowly working his way back from injury. Samuel, who had three interceptions in the playoff game versus the Jaguars, appears ready for the challenge.

Nickname playlist: Gen Z hip-hop. The Chargers’ playlist for Friday’s practice made me feel old. I was proud of myself for knowing most of the hip-hop songs that played during my previous three stops with the Raiders, Cardinals and Cowboys. But I couldn’t name a single song for Charges practice (Although, I did recognize Drake’s voice a few times, but that’s easy. He’s in everything.)

While kicker Cameron Dicker (that rhymes!) practiced his field goals, I begrudgingly downloaded the Shazam app, but that only made me feel worse. I didn’t recognize any of the artists. Here are a few songs that were recognized by Shazam:

– Double Up Triple Up by Mike Styles
– No Caption by Evan Scape
– Beastmode by B Sound Beatz, Heataman J.O. and BTS Cash
– Off the Rim by Derek Minor

Perhaps some of you know these bangers, as the kids say. Ugh, maybe I am old and/or uncool.