The most disappointing part of the Los Angeles Chargers' failures in recent seasons has, without a doubt, been their inability to maximize the talent of quarterback Justin Herbert.
He's posted some impressive stats to this point in his career, but the team has failed to surround him with the protection and the offensive help he's needed to spur them into championship contention.
Even in 2025, with his production being limited by the horrid play of his offensive line, he amassed 3,727 passing yards and 26 touchdowns on a 66.4 completion percentage. If he were on a more competent offense, he would be in the MVP conversation with Drake Maye and Matthew Stafford.
He also took major strides as a scrambler and designed runner, grabbing 498 yards with his legs and achieving a 57.8% success rate on plays where he ran the ball. This, combined with his big-play ability through the air, could be the factors that land him in the MVP race next season.
Justin Herbert can and should be an MVP candidate next season
Although he is not among the favorites to win the award in 2026, ESPN's Seth Walder agrees. He had Herbert ranked seventh on his list of 100 MVP candidates for next season, citing his abilities on the ground as potentially being a major factor in his resurgence.
"His accuracy was solid, with a plus-3% completion percentage over expected that ranked eighth. But where Herbert particularly shone this season was scrambling, adding 24.3 EPA on scrambles, fourth most in the NFL and a huge increase from his 16th-place ranking in 2024. He added the seventh-most EPA on designed runs, too."Seth Walder
With Mike McDaniel as the offensive coordinator, Herbert will have a new offensive scheme to operate within. While McDaniel has publicly stated he wants to scheme easier completions for Herbert, it would be foolish not to weaponize Herbert's abilities on the ground as well.
The problem was that Greg Roman leaned too heavily on Herbert's athleticism and ability to extend plays. McDaniel wants to selectively weaponize it.
Take Maye, for example. If he ultimately wins the MVP award this season over Stafford, it will be a result of his scrambling ability. On the season, Maye amassed 450 rushing yards on 103 attempts. While he took 47 sacks on the season, he was able to extend plays more often than not.
Skills like that can make all the difference in a quarterback's value, and an offensive coordinator who can properly utilize Herbert's rushing ability could launch him into these conversations pretty quickly.
Now it's just up Los Angeles to give Herbert the protection he needs to get it done.