Healthy, happy and hungry: Chargers QB Justin Herbert could be in for an MVP season

After the final practice of Chargers minicamp on Friday, new head coach Jim Harbaugh — who is rarely at a loss for words — gathered the team for a huddle and then stepped back and ceded the floor to a beaming Justin Herbert. The Bolts' franchise quarterback spoke for about a minute, sharing the kind of message you'd expect to hear from a team leader.

"The commitment and the level of dedication that we had to this offseason program, I think that was awesome," Herbert said. "I wanted to share that with them and talk about this next month being the most important month. We're away from the facility and we're on our own and not to give up what we've already put in and to make sure that we're going everything we can so that when fall camp comes around we're ready to go."

Herbert is carrying himself a little differently this year. On the practice field, one could see his smile through his facemask for nearly the entire 45-minute session. That easy demeanor carried over into his first media availability of 2024, which was also the first time he's spoken since the Chargers hired Harbaugh. 

With the media, Herbert is usually polite but reserved. This time, he let some of his personality out, even cracking jokes about Los Angeles traffic and being the only person on the entire team to wear a gold jersey top in practice.

"I asked (Harbaugh) on the first day if the other quarterbacks could wear one as well," Herbert said. "He said it was his rule and if it's his rule I'm following it."

Historically hesitant to discuss injuries, Herbert even opened up about the finger injury that cut his season short, saying it was back to normal sometime in late February or early March.

The change can most likely be attributed to the new coaching staff installing a robust support system for him. 

In his first few seasons, when Herbert was setting NFL passing records, he had QB coach Shane Day to work with. In 2023, former head coach Brandon Staley let Day go. Day then landed with the Texans and helped C.J. Stroud orchestrate one of the best rookie seasons in NFL history while Herbert, by his lofty standards, struggled.

When Harbaugh took over, he asked Herbert if he had any suggestions for QB coach. That was an easy question to answer.

"Shane was the No. 1 guy," Herbert said. "He's done a great job of just picking up right where we left off and I'm really glad to be working with him again."

Harbaugh didn't stop there. He added offensive coordinator Greg Roman and senior offensive assistant Marc Trestman, whose experience goes all the way back to 1983 when he helped make Miami quarterback Bernie Kosar a household name. While Day and Herbert fell right back into lockstep, Roman had to learn what he was working with.

It didn't take him long to become a fan.

"With Justin, the sky's the limit. What's above the sky? The stratosphere? The stratosphere is the limit," Roman said. "The level of his ability to think really quickly. I don't know if he has a photographic memory but his ability to almost memorize a game plan to a 'T' is very impressive."

Herbert's history with offensive coordinators has been well-documented. Going back to his freshman year at Oregon, he's played eight seasons for seven different play callers. Learning a different offense without missing a beat begs the question: Does he, in fact, have a photogenic memory?

"I wish," Herbert said. "No, I don't. I think I've just done a good job of getting in the playbook and understanding that, as a quarterback, you have to understand the ins and outs of the offense. You have to know every role. If the receivers, tight ends or linemen come to you and have a question it's either, here's the answer or I'll go find the answer for you."

Harbaugh's offenses have historically been run-heavy, an approach that was magnified by Michigan's run to the national championship. The Chargers let Mike Williams walk to the Jets and traded Keenan Allen to the Bears, parting with easily their two most accomplished receivers, while bulking up the running backs room with J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards.

Anyone thinking Herbert will be reduced to a well-compensated game manager is in for a surprise.

In 2012, when he took San Francisco to the Super Bowl, Harbaugh's offense ran the ball 56 more times than they threw it and a lot of that gap was Colin Kaepernick improvising on a called pass and using his legs. Now that he has a truly elite talent at the position he played for 14 years in the NFL, Harbaugh would be mad to not design a scheme that caters to that strength.

Winning is the one thing Herbert, for all his eye-popping numbers, has not done consistently. Just last year, he became the fastest QB to reach 1,500 career completions and owns the most passing yards in a player's first four seasons. Yet his career win-loss record is 30-32 with no playoff victories.

Those numbers have caused some people to call him a "social media quarterback" or slap the "overrated" tag on him. Now that he has a head coach with a winning track record and a stable of proven assistants behind him, Herbert is in a better position than ever to translate his box score dominance into W's.

That alone is reason for him to smile.

All quotations obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.