Justin Herbert Primed for Shocking Jump After Nosedive in Latest Rankings

Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert is the definition of overlooked.

Herbert is a quiet star quarterback only just starting to come out of his shell in public appearances and even music videos while dating an international pop star.

More to the point, Herbert is an agreed-upon elite player with a 5,000-yard season and a couple of Pro Bowl nods under his belt,. But he plays for the equally as quiet Chargers organization and has yet to match his elite play with a deep playoff push.

Even so, one would think Herbert, being a borderline top-five passer, would rank pretty high on offseason lists.

But a new effort? He’s outside the top 60.

Justin Herbert disrespected in rankings

Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert — Justin Herbert | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Herbert had a “down” year last season, but he still completed 66.4 percent of his passes with 26 touchdowns and 13 interceptions while evolving as a runner, putting up a career-high 498 yards with two scores with his legs. Everyone agrees the offensive line was bad and the Greg Roman offense downright miserable.

And yet, Pete Prisco of CBS Sports has ranked Herbert a mere No. 63 on his top 100 list.

“He played in 16 games last year, throwing 26 touchdown passes and 13 interceptions. He clearly played through injuries for some of those games, but I expect his numbers to improve with Mike McDaniel calling plays this season. (Last season: No. 49)”

For context, before the top 10, these quarterback rank higher than Herbert on this list:

Drake Maye
Jared Goff
Jordan Love
Dak Prescott

Chargers fans might argue that Herbert needs to be in the top 10 with the likes of Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson. But just getting inside the top 50 and past some of these quarterbacks he’s obviously better than would be a start.

If nothing else, this sort of unreasonable ranking primes Herbert for a stunning jump. If he’s about to reach new ceilings in a Mike McDaniel offense while playing in a modern scheme for the first time, there's no reason to believe he can’t challenge for a top 10 spot right away.

Considering McDaniel even has Herbert reworking his footwork while getting to overhaul the personnel of the offense at every position, there is certainly reason for hype.

And in a year’s time, if Herbert is making an almost-silly 50-spot push up the boards on lists like this, it probably means he’s secured a playoff win to establish himself, if not quite a bit more for the Chargers.

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