Los Angeles Chargers: 3 Reasons why Justin Herbert was a good pick

Here are three reasons why the Los Angeles Chargers made the right choice when they drafted Justin Herbert with the sixth overall pick.

When the Los Angeles Chargers used their first-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft to draft Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert, they signaled to the rest of the NFL that they had found their franchise quarterback of the future.

For the Chargers the future was written when the team decided to sever ties with the face of the franchise Phillip Rivers, who had played quarterback for the team for the last 16 seasons. Instead of signing or trading for a veteran quarterback, the Chargers will navigate this season with last year’s backup Tyrod Taylor at the helm.

Taylor’s tenure is not a long-term solution and the drafting of Herbert is a signal that he, not Taylor is the quarterback of the future.

Here are three reasons the Chargers choice in selecting Herbert was the right one.

Intelligence

Herbert gets downgraded for not being a vocal and demonstrative leader when he’s on the field. His lack of emotion is seen as an aloofness to the game, but what his low key manner mask is intelligence on and off the field.

Herbert was twice named PAC-12 Academic first team and was a one time Academic All-American. His senior season, Herbert was awarded the William V. Campbell Trophy, known as the “Academic Heisman” awarded to the college football player with the best combination of academics and on-field performance.

When Mario Cristobal was hired as Oregon’s coach he had the team’s offensive scheme changed from spread offense to a pistol offense Herbert was able to take command of the offense and went 21-6 as a starter after the change demonstrating an ability to easily adapt. Moving on to the next level Herbert will need his intelligence to adapt at the pro level.