How Justin Herbert Proved Every Doubter Wrong in His Rookie Season

evaluating whether or not a college football player can transfer their success to the nfl is like trying to evaluate how well your dog that likes to swim in your pool could compete in the summer olympics point is we're talking about two completely different ball games and the sheer amount of variables that can affect that transition from ncaa to nfl are sometimes enough to nullify even the soundest of logic that's a big part of what makes draft season hot takes so fun to follow year after year because while strong opinions on a player can be reaffirmed when they aren't it can also be downright hilarious one such example can be found in the la chargers new crown jewel qb justin herbert a player that in his first season served as a reminder of just how finicky the dark arts of quarterback evaluation can be coming into the 2020 draft herbert was one of the most polarizing players among analysts but in spite of the high volatility he appeared to have in entering the nfl even those who were the highest on him were still shocked by what he was able to create in his very first season despite essentially no offseason being available he still managed to shatter rookie record upon rookie record in route to becoming the sole bright spot for the chargers in an otherwise very chargers season so now that herbert has his first nfl campaign under his belt today i want to take a look at just how impressive his jump from college to the next level has been so far and what that means for him in the ever unstable and probably cursed chargers organization but before we get into how herbert was able to burst onto the nfl landscape i would like to take a second and thank today's sponsor over at hellofresh for helping me to make this video happen i've been happy to recommend them before on the channel but if you haven't heard of hellofresh before they are the number one meal kit delivery service simplifying every step of making high quality recipes right from home cooking can be a very 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writing at the age of nine that he wanted to be a professional football player in the city of los angeles this kid was so ahead of the curve that he predicted dean spanos moving the team a decade in advance while he was still in the fourth grade so with destiny apparently on his side it really only makes sense that herbert would materialize into an nfl prospected oregon with the type of measurables that make nfl gms absolutely lose their minds six foot six 236 pounds fluid mobility and a cannon attached to his right shoulder but that's not to say herbert simply shot a laser through every defense he faced in college in fact it was a mixed bag for much of his career especially considering he was passed back and forth between three separate offensive schemes within his first three seasons that's a recipe to create more problems than solutions for a young quarterback at any level of the game but in his first full year as a starter in his junior season herbert did enough to generate buzz about his potential as a top target in the nfl draft he compiled over 3000 passing yards and 29 touchdowns to 8 interceptions and showed off enough of his natural ability to be considered a top prospect in a relatively weak 2019 quarterback class scouts gravitated not just to his ideal athleticism but his rare intangibles and knack for creating success both in and out of rhythm but despite all the hype he was getting herbert also recognized there were unmistakable flaws in his game that still needed attention and as a result he passed on the potential of being a guaranteed top pick to return for his senior season that final campaign at oregon in 2019 would both in some ways strengthen and in others convolute his draft stock at the same time with both those who were high on him and those who doubted his abilities digging deeper down into their beliefs herbert would take another step forward statistically in route to leading the ducks to a rose bowl title but in the process he became one of the most polarizing prospects in the entire draft class there was no doubt he had demonstrated an extremely high ceiling at oregon compiling throws that were nfl caliber on a regular basis in spite of the fact the talent around him was far weaker than some of the other big names however question mark still remained in his game that never felt resolved for any extended period of time he threw with poise when in rhythm but struggled to pull the trigger if at all unsure of his window he would place the ball on the money between three defenders but then a few plays later completely miss on a routine throw he would put plays on tape with high level awareness in climbing the pocket but also show instances of panic where pressure just seemed to overwhelm his judgment to make a long story short making any kind of sweeping judgments about what kind of nfl player herbert would be was not an easy task and that sentiment is reflected pretty hilariously in the fact that you could take a look around and find two scouting reports that came away with polar opposite conclusions on the same particular aspect of his game so with a whole lot to arrange into whatever narrative you wanted to going into the draft the most common evaluation seemed to be that herbert was a physical specimen but also a major work in progress with a ceiling near the moon if he was given time to develop outlooks ranged from first overall to fringe first rounder in the eyes of most but there was also a bizarrely dedicated niche who seemed convinced of the idea that herbert was a lost cause before he even was drafted and those people were certainly not afraid to share that take with the entire world but despite his inconsistencies on film and doubts from just about every angle the la chargers and gm tom telesco opted to select justin herbert number six overall in the 2020 nfl draft as the third quarterback off the board and prospective future of the organization the team had just recently parted ways with its franchise passing leader and 16-year qb1 in philip rivers and with the team still searching for an identity in los angeles herbert would hopefully develop into their new torchbearer over time now in retrospect it's easy to act like the chargers instantly knew they had a star in the making with herbert but the fact of the matter is la had every intention of letting him sit until they felt he was pro-ready positioning him on the depth chart behind tyrod taylor to learn from the well-respected veteran development and patience were the name of the game for the front office from the start and with that focus in mind the chargers brought in pep hamilton as the team's quarterbacks coach who played a large part in the development of andrew luck as his offensive coordinator both at stanford and with the indianapolis colts in 2013. the pandemic shortened 2020 offseason left severely limited time for herbert to prepare to make that jump to the next level but with anthony lynn fully prepared to ride the season out with tyrod taylor the formula was there to try and mimic the development of a couple of other raw but talented prospects but if there's one thing that 2020 will go down in history for it's of course taking any and all plans and throwing them into a kerosene fire just one week into the regular season the chargers were set to host the defending world champion kansas city chiefs but just minutes before the game was set to kick off tyrod taylor was receiving a pain relieving injection into his cracked ribs when the team doctor accidentally punctured taylor's lung requiring him to be taken immediately to the hospital for treatment at that point the game's opening kickoff was already in the air when anthony lin told justin herbert he was about to make his first nfl started quarterback and that kind of jolt can shock even the most confident player but herbert did not blink even once throwing for 311 yards and scoring two total touchdowns in his debut as he traded highlight reel plays with none other than patrick mahomes the chargers would lose that game in overtime by just three points but herbert had officially arrived on the nfl scene after that instantly spawning a qb controversy that would persist for the next few weeks while no one wanted to see tyrod taylor lose his job as the result of terrible luck justin herbert would prove in the games that followed that he was more than capable of stepping directly into a starting role not only in terms of playing at a high level but also in rallying the locker room around him as a credit to both herbert and the coaching staff that believed in and developed him his play on an nfl field was a completely different animal from what it had been at oregon to the point that it's almost mystifying to try and understand while a year prior against pac-12 defenses herbert was hesitant to trust his instincts in his rookie year against professional defenses he made throws with poise and decisiveness able to put faith in the talent of his receivers and play calling pep hamilton and offensive coordinator shane steiken built a strong bond with their young quarterback and quickly bridged the gap between pieces that herbert had missed at oregon from footwork and mechanics tweaks to tune his accuracy to his ability to read looks pre and post snap with any evolution that is that immediate though it's crystal clear that herbert wasn't put in a position to reach his full potential at the college level and though people said time and time again that his elite measurables were just a crutch for his draft stock it was now those same measurables that granted the ability to excel right away in the nfl herbert was supposed to be learning quietly behind the scenes but instead he set off on a blistering run that would outpace almost every other rookie through nfl history in his 15 games herbert threw for 4336 yards and 31 touchdowns to just 10 interceptions also while adding an additional 234 yards and 5 touchdowns on the ground that passing yardage mark is only 39 yards less than the record set by andrew luck back in 2012 but that stat also neglects to mention the fact that luck played an entire extra game so it was a year of broken records for the project quarterback becoming the youngest player to ever throw for 30 touchdowns breaking the rookie total touchdowns record as well as the passing touchdowns record oh and the completion record oh and games with 300 yards passing record etc etc but not even one of the best rookie passing seasons in history could overcome the sinking vessel that was the 2020 chargers in customary chargers fashion the team would still go 7-9 and manage to lose 7 of those games by just 1 score with the particularly egregious instances marked by abysmal special teams and decision making by head coach anthony lin which no doubt played a huge role in his firing after the season in fact with how poorly lin handled critical team decisions i would not be the least bit surprised if it came out that it was in fact him that was behind the move to give justin herbert a buzz cut i mean how else do you explain this hairstyle aside though herbert's transformation is one that is near impossible to explain having not been in the building to witness what exactly clicked for him to make the strides he did but at the very least it does confirm that you and i have zero idea who does or does not have what it takes to be a professional quarterback there seemed to be a collective agreement for a couple of years now that having physical traits that indicate a high ceiling but cover up some other areas of weakness is instantly regarded as bust material personally i blame john elway for this mentality but also i get the sentiment raw talent always requires the right mentors in place to sculpt an elite quarterback but recent history also shows there's definitely a lesson in not getting so caught up on the floor that you neglect to look up at the ceiling everyone wants a sure thing in their shiny new drafted quarterback but when you realize just how few early draft qb's have really panned out over recent years all of a sudden upside doesn't seem like a bad thing to shoot for especially seeing how much of a difference unique athletic gifts have been able to make for modern nfl offenses as for the future of justin herbert and the chargers herbert will once again be dealing with a new head coach in brandon staley next season a defense centric coach who boasted one of the top units in the league as coordinator for the la rams last year but he isn't the only new face as both shane steiken and pep hamilton have both left town for new gigs replaced by joe lombardi and shane day respectively that kind of change for a second year quarterback isn't usually a positive thing and i would be lying if i said i wasn't concerned about what exactly it means going into year two for herbert but if there's anything indicated in his first season it's that he can handle a little turbulence in addition it's obviously never as easy for a young successful quarterback to run it back perfectly after defenses get an entire year of tape to study and plan ahead for but also i once made the mistake of predicting that patrick mahomes would likely return to earth after his mvp season and you know i'm not sure i'll ever live that one down either so look with this video as a whole i'm not trying to say that justin herbert is the next patrick mahomes or aaron rodgers or anything like that that would be insane but also after his 2020 season if you put herbert into any kind of box at all at this point you just straight up are not paying attention thank you [Music]

Channel: Set the Edge

Views: 444,209

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Id: k4GXJJZ-G2A

Length: 14min 8sec (848 seconds)

Published: Mon Feb 01 2021