Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert won the 2020 Offensive Rookie of the Year award. Can Herbert add to his trophy case this upcoming season?
ESPN’s Mike Greenberg believes so.
On an episode of Get Up, Greenberg confidently said that he believes Herbert will be crowned the 2021 most valuable player.
“With as good as he was last season, and almost no reason to be as ready as he looked, now a full offseason and all of the additions his team has made, I would suggest Justin Herbert is a sneaky excellent pick to be this coming season’s NFL MVP.”
The rest of the panel liked Greenberg’s bold prediction, with longtime NFL center Jeff Saturday calling it a “great pick.”
Herbert set rookie records for total touchdowns (36), passing touchdowns (31), completions (396), multi-passing touchdown games (10), games with 300 yards passing (8) and three-passing touchdown games (6).
Heading into the new season, Herbert could be in for an even bigger season, given the fact that he will have all key skill players from last year returning, with the additions of Jared Cook and Josh Palmer coupled with offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi’s system playing to his strengths.
Most importantly, Herbert will have plenty of time to distribute the wealth to those guys now that he will have a competent offensive line that features All-Pro Corey Linsley, Matt Feiler, Oday Aboushi and first-round pick Rashawn Slater.
There is the possibility of a slight regression knowing that teams will have more film on Herbert this year. But the players around him coupled with his natural talent and high football IQ should be able to mitigate that from occurring.
If Herbert was crowned MVP, he would be the latest of second-year quarterbacks to win the award, joining Patrick Mahomes (2018) and Lamar Jackson (2019).