Justin Herbert was the third quarterback taken in the 2020 NFL Draft — yet he’s been the best signal caller in the talented rookie class. What Herbert has accomplished through 19 games has solidified his status as a franchise quarterback, elevating the Los Angeles Chargers organization into a contender in the AFC.
Herbert wasn’t even supposed to become the starting quarterback of the Chargers until Tyrod Taylor was sidelined with a chest injury minutes before a showdown with the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 2 of the 2020 season. All Herbert did was throw for over 300 yards in his first career start — and hasn’t relented the starting quarterback job ever since.
The 2020 Offensive Rookie of the Year award winner, Herbert threw the most passing touchdowns (31), completions (396), and averaged the most passing yards per game (298.1) from a rookie quarterback in NFL history. He also had the second-most passing yards (4,336) and second-highest completion percentage (66.55%) from a rookie quarterback.
Herbert has gotten even better in year two, emerging into a top-10 quarterback — and has entered the conversation as a top-five passer. He’s a MVP candidate as the Chargers lead the AFC West at 3-1 (2-0 in the division).
In this week’s “By The Numbers,” let’s take a look at Herbert’s first 19 starts and where he ranks among the hottest starts in NFL history.
Most passing yards — first 19 starts
- Patrick Mahomes — 6,202
- Kurt Warner — 5,574
- Justin Herbert — 5,514
- Tony Romo — 5,196
- Nick Foles — 5,193
Most passing touchdowns — first 19 starts
- Patrick Mahomes — 57
- Kurt Warner — 47
- Dan Marino — 46
- Justin Herbert — 40
- Deshaun Watson — 40
Most completions — first 19 starts
- Justin Herbert — 509
- Patrick Mahomes — 460
- Kirk Cousins — 447
- Daniel Jones — 424
- Kyler Murray — 424
What Herbert has accomplished through 19 starts is incredible, especially since Herbert is only four games into his second season. Herbert is the fastest-player ever to 500 completions, the only player to have that many completions in his first 19 starts.
Prior to his 19th start, Herbert and Mahomes are the only players in league history to top 5,000 passing yards through a player’s first 17 starts to a career. He’s also the only player to amass 400 completions through the first 16 starts of a career. Herbert had 10 consecutive games with a touchdown pass to start a career, trailing only Mark Rypien (11) and seven consecutive games with at least 250 passing yards to start a career, trailing only Mahones (10).
Herbert is also the youngest player in NFL history to throw 30 touchdown passes in a season (22 years, 299 days), beating Lamar Jackson by 40 days (22 years, 339 days). His 36 total touchdowns (31 passing, five rushing) are the most for a rookie quarterback in NFL history and his 10 games with multiple passing touchdowns and eight games with 300-plus passing yards are the most for a rookie quarterback in league history.
Let’s take a look at the best quarterbacks after their first two NFL seasons:
Most passing yards — first two seasons
- Andrew Luck — 8,196
- Jameis Winston — 8,132
- Cam Newton — 7,920
- Peyton Manning — 7,874
- Kyler Murray — 7,693
Most passing touchdowns — first two seasons
- Dan Marino — 68
- Derek Carr — 53
- Peyton Manning — 52
- Russell Wilson — 52
- Jameis Winston — 50
- Carson Palmer — 50
Most completions — first two seasons
- Kyler Murray — 724
- Derek Carr — 698
- Andrew Luck — 682
- Peyton Manning — 657
- Jameis Winston — 657
Herbert has 5,514 passing yards and 40 passing touchdowns in his short career (19 games). The 17-game season will certainly help Herbert have the best start for a quarterback through his first two seasons, as Herbert needs just 2,683 yards to pass Luck — or average 206.4 passing yards per game over the final 13 games. He needs just 29 touchdowns over the final 13 games to pass Marino.
Herbert already has 509 completions in his career, needing just 216 to pass Murray — averaging just 16.6 over the final 13 games to set the mark. Through 19 games, Herbert averages 2.1 passing touchdowns and 290.2 passing yards per game. Based on Herbert’s per game average, he should have all the three major passing marks through a player’s first two seasons (assuming he keeps his current pace and doesn’t get injured).
Finally, we take an early look at Herbert’s MVP case and where he ranks among the league leaders in passing in 2021:
- Completion percentage — 68.9% (9th)
- Passing yards — 1,178 (8th)
- Passing touchdowns — 9 (t-6th)
- 1st down passes — 62 (3rd)
- Passer rating — 101.1 (14th)
- Fourth quarter comebacks — 2 (t-1st)
While it’s early to build Herbert’s MVP case, the Chargers racing out to a 3-1 start does have merit this early in the season — especially since two of their wins are against the Chiefs and Chargers. Los Angeles is 7-1 in its last eight games — dating back to last season — thanks to the play of Herbert.
How has Herbert fared in his last eight starts? Herbert has completed 214 of 304 passes (70.4%) of his passes for 2,290 yards with 17 touchdowns to four interceptions for a 105.3 passer rating. Elite numbers for a player coming into his own as a quarterback.
Herbert is already a superstar in the NFL, and is gaining steam towards becoming one of the best quarterbacks in the game. His start is amongst the best in league history, and will only improve each passing week.
