Part of the draw of the Los Angeles Chargers for Jim Harbaugh was working with quarterback Justin Herbert, and the early returns so far in the spring are great, with Harbaugh raving about the conditioning test that Herbert went under last week, saying that he “crushed it.”

“The conditioning test was another eye opener… He smashed the conditioning test last Thursday,” Jim Harbaugh said, via Bridget Condon of NFL Network. “I mean, crushed it like out in front of people trying to keep up with to the point I mean, the athleticism and the strength really. I mean, he could play tight end here, he could play edge rusher here.”

The Chargers are hoping to unlock the potential of their team that many pundits have seen in them over the last couple of years. Much of that is due to the ability of Justin Herbert, who is viewed as one of the most physically talented quarterbacks. He has also put up gaudy stats over the course of his career to this point. Now, Herbert and the Chargers hope to have the regular season and playoff success that seems possible with him under center.

The lack of regular season or postseason success has resulted in some critiquing Herbert, despite many pundits viewing Herbert as one of the most gifted quarterbacks in the league. It is on Harbaugh to surround Herbert with proper talent and create a system that leads to success with the Chargers. He built great teams with the San Francisco 49ers and the Michigan football program, so it would be surprising if he does not find some level of success with the Chargers.

Jim Harbaugh's vision with the Chargers

Harbaugh is an experienced coach and will build the team with his vision, and the selection of Joe Alt at No. 5 instead of a receiver like Malik Nabers or Rome Odunze in this year's draft is evidence of that. Instead of going for the flashy wide receiver, which would not have been a bad pick, the Chargers have Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater as bookends of their offensive line.

Los Angeles then picked up a good wide receiver prospect in Ladd McConkey in the second round. The recipe is to give Herbert enough time to throw, then it will not matter if there is not a true No. 1 wide receiver for the 2024 season.

Despite the presence of Rashawn Slater, the Chargers' offensive line still got Herbert in trouble a good amount of the time last season. If Alt is who the Chargers believe he is, then Herbert will be set up to succeed as a passer with time to operate.

It will take more time for Harbaugh to build up a team that can run the ball to the level that he would like, but this is a strong start, and it is not a surprise that this is the direction that the Chargers chose to go.