As hard as it may be to believe, Los Angeles Chargers quarterback has now been in the league for six seasons after being taken by the Bolts with the No. 6 overall pick in the opening round of the 2020 draft.
Now, there's no getting around the fact that the Oregon alum hasn't had the overall success that Chargers fans have been looking for thus far. Because while he's led Los Angeles to three playoff berths in his six seasons, he's yet to win a single postseason game and didn't fare overly well in those three outings, completing just 54.7 percent of his passes for 674 yards with two touchdowns and four interceptions.
That said, though, there's also no getting around the fact that Herbert has put up some monster numbers during the regular season. After falling just shy of the rookie record en route to winning Offensive Rookie of the Year, he went on to set new records for the most passing yards through two seasons, three seasons, four seasons, and five seasons. And had Jim Harbaugh not sat him down for Week 18 this past January, he would have set the six-season mark as well.
We'll break all of that down momentarily, and we'll also break down how, heading into the 2026 season, Herbert has a shot at the seven-season mark, but he'll need a big campaign to get there.
Justin Herbert needs 4,623 yards in 2026 to set the new NFL record for the most passing yards through seven seasons
What some may not remember about Herbert's rookie season is that he was not the Week 1 starter in that 2020 campaign, as that role belonged to Tyrod Taylor, who was tasked with serving as the placeholder until Herbert was ready to roll following the departure of Philip Rivers.
But after a Week 1 win over the Cincinnati Bengals, Taylor had one of his lungs accidentally punctured by a team doctor while being administered a painkiller for a rib injury, thus thrusting Herbert into action. And he certainly made the most of the opportunity, ultimately throwing for 4,336 yards, falling just short of the record 4,374 thrown by Andrew Luck for the Indianapolis Colts in 2012. One would obviously assume that had Herbert been in the lineup for the season opener, that rookie record would be his.
Nevertheless, as mentioned, Herbert went on to set new marks over the next four seasons. In 2021, he became the first Chargers quarterback ever to hit the 5,000-yard mark, just sneaking over at 5,014. As such, he raised his career total to 9,350 to easily surpass Luck's previous mark of 8,196.
And from there, he went on to end his third season at 14,089 (Andrew Luck--12,957), his fourth at 17,223 (Peyton Manning--16,418), and his fifth at 21,093 (Peyton Manning--20,618).
With Peyton Manning holding the six-season mark at 24,885, Herbert needed 3,793 yards during the 2025 season to set the new mark and had 3,727 through 16 games to bring his career total to 24,820. But as mentioned, Harbaugh sat him for the Bolts' Week 18 matchup with the Denver Broncos, thus ending his historic streak.
Now, Herbert will set his sights on the seven-season record, which currently belongs to Manning, who upped his career total to 29,442 with a what was then a career-best 4,557-yard campaign for the Colts in 2004 en route to winning NFL MVP for the second straight year.
As such, Herbert will need a big 2026, as he needs 4,623 yards to surpass Manning. He's hit that number twice with 5,014 yards in 2021 and 4,739 in 2022, but as he's failed to hit even 4,000 yards in each of the last three seasons, he'll certainly have his work cut out for him.
Add us as a preferred source on Google