If the NFL draft were to start today, the Los Angeles Chargers would have the No. 10 overall pick — not where most expected them to be at the beginning of the season. Enter Justin Herbert of Oregon.
The 4-8 Chargers have struggled this season. Part of the reason for those struggles is the decline of longtime quarterback Philip Rivers. Last year, the veteran QB was great: he completed 68 percent of his passes for 4308 yards with 32 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
However, through 12 games this year, Rivers has a paltry 17/15 touchdown-to-turnover ratio and has plagued the Chargers with inaccuracy and back-breaking interceptions.
Rivers has been a consistent bright spot for the Chargers franchise for over a decade, but, now nearly 38 years old, it's time for the Chargers to look towards the future.
Current Chargers backup QB Tyrod Taylor is probably one of the best backups in the league and has a considerable amount of starting experience to prove that he can be a viable option — but he's not the longterm answer.
Enter Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert. In 2018, Herbert threw for 3151 yards on 59.4 completion percentage for 29 touchdowns and eight interceptions. There was talk that Herbert could have been the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NFL draft but instead, he decided to return to Eugene for his senior season.
While it hasn't been all smooth sailing, Herbert has improved across the board stats wise throwing for 31 touchdowns and only five interceptions while also increasing his completion percentage to 67.5.
As a result, Herbert will likely be the second or third quarterback drafted in this year's class behind Joe Burrow and possibly Tua Tagovailoa. Most mock drafts have the Oregon signal caller going somewhere in the early to mid first round so the Chargers could be in the perfect position to draft their quarterback of the future.
Scouting Herbert, the first thing you'll notice is his elite NFL size. Standing tall at 6-foot-6 and 238 pounds, the Oregon Duck would come in and be on the level of Cam Newton, Carson Wentz and Ben Roethlisberger as one of the biggest QBs in the league.
And while he may not have quite the running ability of QBs like Wentz and Newton, Herbert has great athleticism for his size and is excellent at extending plays with his legs and escaping the pocket when need be.
Herbert has also been praised for his pocket presence and has one of, if not the, best arm in the 2020 class. Although he has elite size, Herbert could still fill out his frame and durability concerns arise when looking at his injury history (broken femur in 2014 and broken collarbone in 2017).
Regardless, the Chargers should already be very familiar the Pac-12 quarterback and should look to him as the possible QB of the future.
The Chargers possess strong young talent across the board (Melvin Gordon, Derwin James, Mike Williams, Hunter Henry, Joey Bosa, etc.) and when it comes to those on offense, it doesn't like a Rivers-led unit would be living up to their full potential.On defense, a lackluster offense is frustrating for a unit that could be one of the best in the NFL.
Rivers still might have a year or two left in the tank which would give Herbert a chance to learn from one of the most underrated QBs in NFL history.
When he finally does get the chance, Keenan Allen, Williams and Henry are all solid options to throw to and Gordon and Austin Ekeler combine for one of the best running back tandems in the league which would certainly lift some pressure off the shoulders of a young quarterback.
Herbert is one of the most tantalizing prospects in this years draft and as it stands now, Rivers is no longer the answer at QB. If the Chargers want to speed up the rebuild as fast as possible and get back to being playoff contenders, Justin Herbert may be their best bet.
Follow Us
Subscribe