Jim Harbaugh, who effusively praises Justin Herbert, said Herbert needs to "be better" last week. Perhaps the tough love was an attempt to spark a 0-3 team and a quarterback he recently predicted would be remembered as the greatest quarterback in NFL history. Or, maybe he really meant it.
Either way, it hasn't helped yet as the Chargers fell to 0-4 after a loss on Sunday in Seattle. I realize the "elite" QB conversation is tired. Rightfully so — I'm not even really sure what qualifies as "elite".
I just recall it used to be an exhausting conversation with the likes of Joe Flacco back in his Ravens days, and it's been passed on to quarterbacks like Jalen Hurts, Dak Prescott, and now maybe Justin Herbert. Let's shift the focus to something concrete. Is Justin Herbert a top 10 quarterback in the NFL going forward?
This is not based on his current performance, which has obviously been poor during this 0-4 start. This is based on his entire body of work and where we think he's headed. It's past time we take a hard look at his credentials.
Going into the year, he was a consensus top-10 quarterback in the NFL, whether you asked CBS Sports' NFL experts or polled NFL coaches, executives, and scouts. Four games can't change that much, right? Well, we are constantly getting evaluated in "corporate America," so we don't really need an excuse to re-examine Herbert.
In fact, this recent stretch motivated me to peel back more layers and dig deeper. He may be one of the most talented QBs in the NFL who has put up video game numbers in the past, BUT he's never won a playoff game, his team is 0-4 this year and his resume is frankly average over the past five seasons. His resume is closer to Trevor Lawrence than a Matthew Stafford, Dak Prescott or Joe Burrow.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
