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Justin Herbert News Sparks Reaction Across NFL on Thursday

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Cole Sullivan | Last updated Jul 31, 2025 4:55 PM ET

Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert is entering his sixth NFL season and his second under head coach Jim Harbaugh, who helped lead the Chargers to the playoffs in his first year with the team.

After throwing for 3,870 yards, 23 touchdowns, and just three interceptions in 2024, the Chargers made several offensive additions to provide more support. Rookie wide receiver Tre Harris joins a WR room that already includes Ladd McConkey, while running backs Najee Harris and rookie Omarion Hampton were brought in to add more explosiveness to an offense that lacked consistent playmaking last year.

Still, despite Herbert's strong performance, he was ranked just No. 56 in this year’s NFL Top 100 list, which was revealed Thursday afternoon—prompting strong reactions from fans across the league.

Top 100 Players of 2025:@Chargers QB Justin Herbert earns the No. 56 spot! @NFLFilms pic.twitter.com/0HniTTxJbw
— NFL (@NFL) July 31, 2025

Fan reactions:

"The hate-pendulum swung so far that he became criminally underrated," a fan said.

Someone else added, "Herbert at 56? Bit low for the cannon arm guy."

Another person wrote, "There’s not 55 better players than him."

"56 is is kinda ridiculous for a top 10, arguably top 5 QB," one more fan commented.

Jim Harbaugh recently had high praise for his star quarterback, saying that everyone around him—including himself—needs to rise to Herbert's level.

“This is the truth, Justin Herbert’s biggest weakness is all of those that he’s counting on on offense — coaches, offensive line, playmakers, receivers, running backs — to get up to his level,” Harbaugh said. “I wake up every day to try to get to his level.... I see him at the level, just the highest level as a quarterback. First five seasons, nobody’s thrown for more yards in the history of the NFL, and everything he does is, you just don’t change a thing, but whatever it is, conditioning, it’s too easy. Everything we do, we try to pull him back, because you never have to talk him into doing anything. He’s been in here every day.”

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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