2024 was Justin Herbert's first year in a new offensive system under head coach Jim Harbaugh. Herbert, the Los Angeles Chargers' star quarterback, entered the league with three-straight 4,500-plus passing yard seasons from 2020-22. 2023 was a step down from those numbers, as Herbert finished with 3,134 yards and 20 touchdowns to seven interceptions.
Under Harbaugh and the Chargers' new run-first approach, Herbert's 2024 numbers weren't extremely high as in the past, as he finished with 3,870 yards, 23 touchdowns and just three interceptions. Taking care of the ball and making sound decisions was something Herbert prioritized last season and the league took notice.
Heading into Year 2 in the same system and with more weapons around him, one would think Herbert's stats would improve, right? Mike Clay of ESPN released their win projection and stat predictions for each NFL team.
Herbert's prediction was 3,741 yards with 22 touchdowns and nine interceptions, while also adding another 237 yards and two scores on the ground.
Usually with these predictions, they'll try to base them off of the previous year's stat line. However, Herbert throwing one less touchdown with six more interceptions than 2024 seems a little odd. The yardage going down by 129 is interesting as well, seeing as how the Bolts added rookie Tre Harris and brought back veteran Mike Williams to the mix with Ladd McConkey.
Of course, stats won't matter as long as the Bolts are winning games. However, to suggest Herbert has a worse season than 2024 is a little interesting.
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