Anthony Lynn and the Chargers feel like they finally have a star quarterback with Justin Herbert. They would like to keep it that way. Herbert has been a threat throwing and running during his rookie campaign. The Chargers want to be smart with their quarterback moving forward.
Herbert led the team in rushing with 66 yards in the win over Jacksonville. That’s not going to be the plan every week as Lynn states they don’t want Herbert taking big hits every week:
“He put his shoulders down and he ran over someone,” Lynn said, via Gilbert Manzano of the Los Angeles Daily News. “The sideline kind of erupted when he did that. That’s the way he leads sometimes. But in this league, I want you to slide. . . . I don’t want to put Justin in a situation where he may have to run the football too many times. I don’t like my quarterback getting hit.”
Herbert is on fire to start his rookie campaign. The first-round pick from Oregon is completing 67.4% of his throws while averaging 8.4 yards per attempt. He also has a 12-3 TD to INT ratio. It’s been a fantastic start thus far.
I’ll be the first to admit; I wasn’t super high on Herbert. You cannot unsee the Arizona State game. Credit to the Chargers. They have let Herbert air it out and open up the offense. He’s also looked incredibly poised and never lets anything bother him.
You never want to overreact to five starts in the NFL. Five starts into Baker Mayfield’s career, people were ready to put him in the Hall of Fame. However, there’s no denying Herbert looks incredible, and the pure athleticism and arm talent are there.
