CBS Sports dropped their newest quarterback rankings and it is not all too kind to Los Angeles Chargers signal caller Justin Herbert. It places him ninth, behind a few highly questionable NFL passers.
Los Angeles Chargers QB Ranked 9th-Best
It is hard to argue with Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, and maybe…maybe…Joe Burrow. But placing Brock Purdy seven spots ahead of Herbert makes one question the author’s football acumen. Sure, Purdy has captained an offense to two NFC Championship games and a Super Bowl, but there is a lot more that goes into ranking quarterbacks, beyond wins and losses.
But along those lines, Herbert has proven to be a ‘win because of’ quarterback even when presented with less-than-ideal circumstances around him. The same can’t be said about Jalen Hurts and Dak Prescott. Similarly, CJ Stroud has exactly one very serendipitous season under his belt. I do believe a ‘slow your roll’ recommendation is due for voting him Top-5 this season.
2023 QB Statistical Comparisons
I’ll leave Mahomes, Allen, and Jackson out of this, ceding the point that they are the top three quarterbacks. A look at the remaining six QBs through a statistical lens shows that Herbert tops these others in several categories.
| QB | Justin Herbert | Brock Purdy | Joe Burrow | CJ Stroud | Jalen Hurts | Dak Prescott |
| Yards/game | 241 | 268 | 231 | 274 | 227 | 266 |
| Comp % | 65.1 | 69.4 | 66.8 | 63.9 | 65.4 | 69.5 |
| Success Rate | 17th | 1st | 18th | 13th | 14th | 2nd |
| NFL QBR | 5th | 1st | 21st | 16th | 12th | 2rd |
| Pressure % | 15th Most | 16th | 23rd | 14th | 18th | 28th |
| Bad Throws | 20th Most | 21st | 12th | 31st | 8th | 2nd |
| INT % | 2nd Fewest | 24th | 9th | 1st | 27th | 6th |
| PFF Grade | 10th | 8th | 21st | 16th | 9th | 2nd |
