Under offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi in 2021 and 2022, quarterback Justin Herbert was one of the most unfairly limited players at his position in the NFL. Herbert, the sixth overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft, has one of the best deep arms in the NFL. Sadly, he’s been unable to use it in the ways in which it was intended.
Last season, per Pro Football Focus, Herbert completed 25 of 73 passes of 20 or more air yards for 806 yards, seven touchdowns, three interceptions, and a passer rating of 91.5. To put that in perspective, Josh Allen of the Bills led the NFL with 41 such completions on 104 attempts for 1,386 yards, 12 touchdowns, seven interceptions, and a passer rating of 97.4.
Nobody who can complete passes like this should have an average throw depth of 6.5 yards (fourth-worst in the NFL, minimum 100 attempts).
Kellen Moore, please fix it. pic.twitter.com/DSUHXyI5mv
— Doug Farrar ✍ (@NFL_DougFarrar) July 7, 2023
It’s time for new Chargers OC Kellen Moore to do what Lombardi refused to do — let the big dog eat. Fortunately, Herbert’s new play-designer seems to get it.
“Yeah, there’s some obvious stuff,” Moore recently told Albert Breer of the MMQB, regarding the talent of his new quarterback. “The biggest thing is obviously his arm talent. But his combination of size, throwing ability, athleticism, I mean, there’s only a few on earth that can have that combination, and play at such a high level. It’s really fun to see. I was a 6-foot, kind of hanging-on quarterback for six years. And I laugh, there’s a few throws sometimes he makes that I say, I would never think about trying that throw, but here we are. It’s opened my eyes to some things.”
We can but live in hope.