LA Chargers: ESPN analyst heaps massive praise on Justin Herbert

There is no doubt that every single fan of the LA Chargers not only believes in Justin Herbert but expects him to be one of the top quarterbacks in the entire league next season.

Herbert is coming off of a historical rookie season in which he broke just about every rookie passing record. He has a new head coach that seemingly understands the game more and a better offensive line that won't get him pressured as much as last season.

While most NFL fans recognize Herbert as one of the best quarterbacks in the league, there definitely is a contingent of doubters. There really are two camps of doubters: those who were so wrong about Herbert out of college and are clinging onto a sophomore slump just so their take can be right, and Minnesota Vikings fans.

I know, it sounds weird and Charger fans have had this weird rivalry with Vikings fans. Minnesota fans have been discounting Herbert ever since he won the Offensive Rookie of the Year over Justin Jefferson. It is what it is.

It is nice when Justin Herbert gets national attention and gets praised by someone with a high profile in the media that can reach out to the most people. That is exactly what happened on Wednesday's 'First Take', as Max Kellerman went on a tangent about how special Justin Herbert truly is.

Watch and enjoy:

Max Kellerman is 100% correct about Justin Herbert's ceiling with the LA Chargers.

Patrick Mahomes and Aaron Rodgers are the two best quarterbacks in the league and they are in a tier of their own. While Tom Brady is the greatest of all time and is still winning Super Bowls, when it comes to overall talent, it is Mahomes and Rodgers then everyone else.

To put Justin Herbert into that conversation is big. Even after his incredible rookie season, it was fair to rank Herbert in the 8-10 range among starting quarterbacks last season. While that is top 10, it is far from being Mahomes and Rodgers level.

That being said, Herbert showed all the signs of being capable of being in that elite tier as early as next season. Things are only looking up for Herbert in 2021, which is extremely rare for a second-year quarterback.

It is often said, and accepted, that situations can make or break players. Quarterbacks that do not land on the right team can watch their careers dwindle away before they really even get started. That has been the main excuse for someone such as Sam Darnold in his career.

Herbert had one good thing about his situation last season: he had good weapons. However, everything else was absolutely horrible and is something that a young quarterback absolutely does not want to have in year one.

A head coach who seemingly did not believe in him and was stuck in the 1990s when it came to playcalling; an offensive line that allowed pressures in nearly half of all snaps; a starting job that was not his and that he only had 10 minutes of preparation for.

The LA Chargers gave Justin Herbert every single reason to fail in his rookie season and you know what? We couldn't have blamed him if he did. He didn't. He didn't just pass his rookie season test, he passed with flying colors. He had the greatest rookie season of all time.

With a better offensive line, deeper weapons, a better head coach and a year of experience, the sky is the limit for Herbert. We already broke down this offseason why Herbert is going to be better than Aaron Rodgers this season, going hand-in-hand with Kellerman's argument.

This Justin Herbert kid is special. Max Kellerman is absolutely correct.