Herbert’s 2025 season might not have been flashy, but he certainly showed his toughness as the Chargers rolled through 10 different starting offensive line combinations and more than 20 different five-man configurations in front of Herbert.
He was sacked 54 times in 2025, the second-highest total in the league, faced a league-high 263 pressures and played the final month of the season with a fractured left hand.
“Where would we be without 10? Oh, man. Ain’t no telling, bro,” Khalil Mack said late in the 2025 season. “Just knowing his tenacity and his heart and the grit and resolve that he plays with … having that at the quarterback position, you don’t see that often.
“Over my 12 years, he’s the most unique person I’ve seen at that position. There’s some guys who have kind of had that, but it’s something different with what he’s been playing with and how he’s been playing through it. It’s somewhat crazy but also somewhat remarkable and unbelievable,” Mack added.
As Herbert enters Year 7 in the NFL, there’s reason to believe his best football is in front of him, especially as he gets ready for his first year with new Chargers Offensive Coordinator Mike McDaniel.
Herbert said in June that he didn’t know McDaniel personally before the former Dolphins Head Coach joined Jim Harbaugh’s staff.
But the quarterback said the initial meetings with McDaniel were “awesome” and “we talked about more than just football” in them.
“I could tell we were going to get along really quickly really well,” Herbert said.
If everything clicks for Herbert and McDaniel in 2026, the quarterback could be even higher on this list next year.