Justin Herbert ranks among top NFL QBs, according to new poll

Each year, The Athletic's Mike Sando surveys a number of league figures, asking them to place the league's non-rookie quarterbacks into tiers.

This year, 30 quarterbacks qualified and 50 league figures participated in the exercise. Those polled include general managers, coaches, executives, and other personnel.

Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert was the last of five quarterbacks included in the top tier of signal callers, behind Kansas City's Patrick Mahomes, Cincinnati's Joe Burrow, Buffalo's Josh Allen, and New York's Aaron Rodgers. This is Herbert's second consecutive year finishing in the top tier.

"I think he can carry the team, just from me coaching against him" one defensive coordinator told Sando. "He has the size, the arm strength, he sees the field well. What shocks you is his mobility for his size. He is a better version of Deshaun (Watson)."

2022 was undoubtedly a down year for Herbert. He saw career lows in touchdown passes, touchdown percentage, yards per attempt and QBR -- yet still threw for 4,739 yards and had the lowest turnover-worthy play percentage of all quarterbacks in the league, per Pro Football Focus.

"Maybe it's a product of the team as a whole, but there is something for me, I don't think he's at that echelon quite yet," another defensive coach told Sando. "He has all the ability and skill set to get there. I just don't think he's there yet."

Case and point, Herbert endured the second-most hits of all quarterbacks in the NFL last season. Injuries along the offensive line didn't help L.A.'s run game either, with the unit finishing bottom-five in yards per attempt and total yards gained on the ground. Add in stretches of games played without top two receivers Keenan Allen and Mike Williams and it's borderline miraculous this was a playoff team a year ago.

Some may be surprised that Herbert placed above two Tier 2 quarterbacks in Philadelphia's Jalen Hurts and Baltimore's Lamar Jackson. Both have had more success than Herbert has three years into his career. Herbert's high placement highlights the sentiment around the league that Herbert's talent is undeniable, even if the structure around it has prevented it from being fully realized.

A lone vote separated Herbert from Rodgers. A head coach who placed Herbert in Tier 2 was asked what Herbert can do to win the coach over. 

"Not lose when you have that kind of lead in the playoffs," referring to L.A.'s defeat at the hands of the Jaguars in which the Chargers led 27-0 at one point in the second quarter. "Make a play when you had multiple opportunities to make one. I think (new offensive coordinator) Kellen Moore is going to give him opportunities to light up the stat sheet. I want to see him win."

Should Moore's system jumpstart Herbert's production and the Chargers find some playoff success, Herbert could beat out Rodgers and remain in Tier 1 next year. But higher than that? We may need to see some records broken, head-to-head wins over Mahomes, Burrow and Allen or maybe even a ring.