Heading into 2026, the Los Angeles Chargers have a lot to prove— not only to themselves, but to the league as a whole.
As promising as the team's advancements have been under Jim Harbaugh and Joe Hortiz, they have yet to deliver a playoff win with Justin Herbert at the helm. Over the course of Herbert's six-year career, that's really the only knock against him. As good as he's been in the regular season, even with sub-par weapons and abysmal protection, he and the team have yet to execute in the postseason.
But even based on regular-season performance alone, it's relatively easy to make the case for Herbert as a top-10 quarterback in the NFL. At least Pro Football Focus did so in their recent quarterback rankings, placing Herbert as the seventh-best QB in the league.
While there are those who will vehemently disagree with this take, it's a reasonable reflection of Herbert's career performance. But considering the hopes surrounding his resurgence in 2026 under Mike McDaniel, Herbert has a real chance to solidify his standing this season.
Every Chargers fans' dream, beyond a playoff run, is to see Herbert get the respect he deserves. If he's a top-10 QB at this juncture, it's not hard to imagine him cracking the top-five after this upcoming campaign.
Justin Herbert's much closer to the top-five than most of the NFL can imagine
For context, here's PFF's ranking of the top-10 quarterbacks in the NFL:
- Josh Allen
- Joe Burrow
- Lamar Jackson
- Patrick Mahomes
- Matthew Stafford
- Jordan Love
- Justin Herbert
- Dak Prescott
- Drake Maye
- Brock Purdy
It goes almost without saying that this list will prove to be controversial— especially the inclusion of Jordan Love at six and Brock Purdy at 10. But PFF's case for Herbert actually makes a ton of sense. While Herbert had a down year in 2025 in terms of production, he ranks sixth among all quarterbacks in his passing grade from a clean pocket over the past three years.
When you consider the context of his entire body of work since 2023, Herbert has been one of the most steady and reliable quarterbacks in the NFL, at least during the regular season.
With McDaniel renovating the Los Angeles offense, though, there's room for Herbert to take another step forward this season. McDaniel has outlined a clear vision for how he wants to maximize Herbert's skill-set, and it starts by nailing down his footwork and creating timing throws to get the ball out of his hands more quickly.
If the groundwork is laid successfully, McDaniel knows how to exploit defenses using his wide-zone run game and quick-timing air attack in order to create explosive downfield opportunities. If McDaniel created one of the league's premier offenses with Tua Tagovailoa at the helm in 2023, what can he do with a quarterback of Herbert's caliber?
The truth is that much of Herbert's reputation as an elite quarterback hinges on his performance this season. But the path is clear, given what the offense can be this year, for Herbert to cement himself within the range of the top-five quarterbacks in this league.
There will always be those who will discredit Herbert at every turn. But if he makes his case undeniable, it will be a massive gift to the Chargers fans who have defended him over the past several seasons.
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