Ranking the NFL Starting Quarterbacks
#7 Justin Herbert (Los Angeles Chargers)
Justin Herbert’s stock might have gone down in the eyes of some after last season. But as we stand here today, he is absolutely one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. And his potential is still being untapped.
First and foremost, his physical traits are off the charts. He’s 6’6,” athletic, and has a cannon for an arm:
Physical talent can sometimes be overrated if a quarterback doesn’t know how to play the position. This is where GM’s often get into trouble when it comes to selecting these types of players early in the draft.
That said, the best quarterbacks in today’s NFL, for the most part, all have some form of exceptional physical talent to go along with their ability to play the position at a high level mentally.
The ability to threaten the defense with arm strength and/or athleticism opens up more opportunities for the offense. For instance, a talented quarterback like Herbert can roll right, getting the defense to flow in the same direction, and then heave the ball back across the field on designed shot plays:
A quarterback like Herbert can out-throw any coverage:
He can drop the ball in the bucket from 50 yards away after moving in the pocket and barely having time to reset:
He can make up for broken plays:
He can find completions where none seem to exist:
Given his height, Herbert can also see downfield even with pass-rushers bearing down on him:
But the thing with Herbert is that he isn’t just a physical talent who doesn’t know how to play the position. He processes well, makes good decisions, is comfortable in the pocket, and plays in a controlled, repeatable way.
His numbers aren’t exceptional, but they’ve still been pretty good throughout his career. For instance, he’s never completed less than 65.9% of his passes in any season. And in 2021, he threw for more than 5,000 yards and 38 touchdowns. Unfortunately, the last two seasons have seen somewhat of a decline.
None of that worries me, however. Herbert hasn’t exactly been in a great situation with the Chargers to date.
He’s had 3 different offensive coordinators in his first 4 NFL seasons. And for the last 3 years, he was the guinea pig in an offensive experiment that was seemingly centered around removing the running game altogether.
The Chargers ranked 27th, 31st, and 28th in run play frequency during that span. When they did run it, they weren’t very good, particularly over the last two seasons (27th and 30th in rushing yards per attempt). They made little effort to get better on the ground during that span.
Something tells me that will change under Jim Harbaugh, and I expect to see him untap all of Herbert’s potential. In a couple of years, we might be talking about him as one of the elite quarterbacks in the NFL.
Check out the rest of the rankings here:
#32 Bo Nix (Denver Broncos)
#31 Drake Maye (New England Patriots)
#30 J.J. McCarthy (Minnesota Vikings)
#29 Gardner Minshew (Las Vegas Raiders)
#28 Will Levis (Tennessee Titans)
#27 Deshaun Watson (Cleveland Browns)
#26 Anthony Richardson (Indianapolis Colts)
#25 Bryce Young (Carolina Panthers)
#24 Daniel Jones (New York Giants)
#23 Jayden Daniels (Washington Commanders)
#22 Caleb Williams (Chicago Bears)
#21 Geno Smith (Seattle Seahawks)
#20 Russell Wilson (Pittsburgh Steelers)
#19 Derek Carr (New Orleans Saints)
#18 Baker Mayfield (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
#17 Kyler Murray (Arizona Cardinals)
#16 Trevor Lawrence (Jacksonville Jaguars)
#15 Jared Goff (Detroit Lions)
#14 Tua Tagovailoa (Miami Dolphins)
#13 Kirk Cousins (Atlanta Falcons)
#12 Jalen Hurts (Philadelphia Eagles)
#11 Brock Purdy (San Francisco 49ers)
#10 Jordan Love (Green Bay Packers)
#9 Dak Prescott (Dallas Cowboys)
#8 C.J. Stroud (Houston Texans)
#7 Justin Herbert (Los Angeles Chargers)
#6 Aaron Rodgers (New York Jets)
#5 Matthew Stafford (Los Angeles Rams)
#4 Lamar Jackson (Baltimore Ravens)
#3 Joe Burrow (Cincinnati Bengals)
#2 Josh Allen (Buffalo Bills)
#1 Patrick Mahomes (Kansas City Chiefs)