Justin Herbert 2021 outlook Flashes from Chargers QBs rookie year and what he must do to take the ne

An obscure injury to prompted the start of NFL career, then the No. 6 overall pick in last year's draft went berserk on secondaries acro s the league en route to winning the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award.Herbert's colo sal arm and deceptive improvisational skill allowed him to flourish behind a shoddy Josh Anderson Jersey offensive line, and he rose the level of play of some bottom of the roster receivers behind and in what became a strong candidate for the finest season we've ever seen from a rookie quarterback.With the fate of the firmly in Herbert's hands, let's explore everything about his environment in Los Angeles and pinpoint what he needs to do to take the next step as a quarterback.These positive developments in a quarterback's game are noteworthy because they indicate the distinct po sibility of future growth. I was higher on Herbert than most. While he was my QB3, I had him as the No. 9 overall prospect in the 2020 cla s. Here's what I wrote about Herbert before the draft, straight from my scouting notebook.Tall, plus athlete with a rocket for an arm. Won't be one of the strongest arms in the NFL but in the tier just below that. Couple of wow throws each game. Patient inside the pocket but will run when he needs to and is effective in doing so because of his smoothne s and long strides. Full-field reader. Routinely gets through his progre sions but not super consistent doing so. Pocket drifting is good. Can be patient there too. Throw-on-run ability is hit or mi s. Either or dime or a noticeable mi s. Downfield placement is solid too, as is his accuracy to short/intermediate portions of the field. Occasionally locks on to his first target for too long, which leads to hits in pocket or pa ses getting tipped/picked. Not a polished touch thrower through the levels of the defense. While much of that write-up showed itself on the field in 2020, Herbert was better against pre sure as a rookie in the NFL than I expected. In those situations, Herbert finished with the fourth-highest yards-per-attempt average (7.6) and the best pa ser rating (99.4) in the NFL. Big-time throws while facing an oncoming defender weren't totally rare at Oregon but his final season with the Ducks didn't indicate he'd be spectacular in pre sure situations.Herbert illustrated what it means for a quarterback to elevate those around him in his spectacular rookie season. Second-year undrafted free agent averaged more than 18 yards per grab on 28 catches with three touchdowns, including a 72-yarder. Another undrafted free agent from the cla s of 2019, , averaged nearly 20 yards per reception with three more scores on 20 grabs.Williams was quietly productive as usual. Nearly 16 yards per snag with five scores. Then there's Allen, who did set a career low in yards per catch (9.9) but did have 100 grabs and eight scores in 14 games.The Chargers picked well-rounded but underrated Tenne see wideout in Round 3. I had a second-round grade on him. was lost in free agency. Pa s-catching Zach Werenski Jersey specialist was signed to replace him. Altogether, Los Angeles' group has a star in Allen and a fine collection of depth behind him. And, is one of the league's most dangerous receiving backs.Up front, the Chargers proved they were completely aware of how vital it is to upgrade the blocking in front of Herbert after the rookie was pre sured on 36.6% of his drop backs in 2020, the 12th-highest rate among 39 quarterback qualifiers. Kevlar center was a top priority in free agency. was added to lock down the right guard position next to . Then the really big one -- left tackle in the first round at No. 13 overall. He brings a spectacular blend of power, balance, and technique to the position.Los Angeles is distinctly more formidable in the trenches for Herbert's Year 2. Pick Six Newsletter Crafted By The Best NFL Experts Get the day's big stories + fun stuff you love like mock drafts, picks and power rankings. I agree to receive the "Pick Six Newsletter" and marketing communications, updates, special offers (including partner offers), and other information from CBS Sports and the Paramount family of companies. By pre sing sign up, I confirm that I have read and agree to the and acknowledge Paramount's . Please check the opt-in box to acknowledge that you would like to subscribe. Thanks for signing up! Keep an eye on your inbox. Sorry! There was an error proce sing your subscription. After beginning his NFL career with then first-time full-time offensive coordinator Steve Steichen, Herbert now gets Joe Lombardi, who called plays with the in 2014 and 2015 and has otherwise been a part of Sean Payton's staff with the . Offensive coordinator stability is vital for a young quarterback, but making that change doesn't automatically catalyze a Zach Werenski Men Jersey dip in quarterback effectivene s. New Orleans' offense has been predicated on being spread, pa s-happy, and frequently utilizing quick throws. However, much of Payton's scheme was likely tailored to the strengths and weakne ses of Drew Brees' game, and we know Herbert has a much stronger, more live arm than the retired, all-time great pa ser. Expect a huge year from Ekeler in the screen game, after the way the Saints utilized their backs as pa s-catchers over the past decade-plus.It's not so much about blatant weakne ses Herbert demonstrated in 2020. Because finding flaws in his dazzling debut NFL season is very challenging. The Chargers had the league's seventh-best Football Outsiders' pa sing DVOA with Herbert running the show.It's more about bracing for what history has shown will be a likely regre sion against pre sure, where he flourished as a rookie. Thanks to a in which their expansive play-by-play database was mined, we know play under pre sure is much more unstable year over year than clean-pocket play. The latter is more predictive. And Herbert had the strongest case for the league's best under-pre sure quarterback as a rookie, a fine feat. But when there was no pre sure, the former Oregon star was below average, believe it or not. His yards-per-attempt average (7.1) was far below the NFL average of 7.7. His touchdown rate and pa ser rating were below average, and his interception percentage was a tick above average in those situations.In short, Herbert needs to take the next step when the Chargers' improved offensive line protects him well. Simple as that. Because there's a good chance he won't be as ridiculous in pre sure situations in 2021.Herbert's immense arm talent is a key component to how awesome he played while pre sured last season. And while it's somewhat unlikely that we see a 99.4 quarterback rating again, that is not to say Joonas Korpisalo Kids Jersey we should expect Herbert to be atrocious under pre sure in his second NFL season. This section needs to be dedicated to Herbert limiting how much he regre ses from his stellar under-pre sure work as a rookie. That would be equivalent to him "strengthening his strengths" from a season ago. If he can sustain some semblance of his play under pre sure to stay in the, say, top 10 range acro s the board in those situations, the Chargers will be extremely difficult to stop offensively, especially given how they addre sed clear weakne ses on the roster.Herbert is so naturally, overwhelmingly talented that I believe he can withstand the expected regre sion in his under-pre sure performance in his second season. I'm not ready to predict him playing as well in those situations as he did as a rookie, but he won't fall victim to a huge dip in production.And I believe he's ready to take a clear step in clean-pocket situations, which will be much more frequent in 2021 than they were last season. It'll actually be challenging for him to eclipse his OROY statistics -- he threw for more than 4,300 yards with 31 touchdowns to just 10 picks with an almost 67% completion rate. But a clear yet not gigantic step in the right direction in the situations when his line protects well, which will almost a suredly occur between 70-80% of the time, will help stabilize Herbert's overall efficiency as a thrower.He was a top half of the league quarterback in 2020. To some, he was fringe top 10. Even bracing for the under-pre sure dip likely to occur, because of what should be better decisions and more accuracy in clean-pocket scenarios, Herbert will maintain his standing as one of the most prolific young pa sers in football. I expect him Matt Calvert Women Jersey to have a similar reput
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