Staley: Chargers' Belief in Justin Herbert 'as Good as I’ve Ever Seen in Any Sport'

Justin Herbert has emerged as one of the NFL's brightest young stars at quarterback, throwing for 5,014 yards, 38 touchdowns and 15 interceptions in 2021 while completing 65.9 percent of his passes.

He led the Los Angeles Chargers to the brink of the postseason, with only an overtime loss to the Las Vegas Raiders in the final week of the NFL season keeping them out of the playoffs.

Head coach Brandon Staley told Albert Breer of The MMQB the team's belief in the young quarterback is comprehensive:

"I'll start with the intangible, where he fits in with his teammates and his place within our organization—the belief our players and the people of our organization have in him is as good as I've ever seen in any sport. Our belief in him comes through who he is on a daily basis, and seeing him comfortable now. As a young player, it's so difficult to find your voice, because you're just trying to do your job well, you're just trying to make it, you're just trying to prove yourself. For him now, it's being able to connect with our team.

"And I see him around his teammates, and those connections he's made going on his third season—just with new players, brand new players to our team, and being comfortable doing that—and the connections he makes with people around our team who aren't players. I see him making tremendous progress that way, leading our team. I thought he led fantastically last year, but I see a better Justin that way."

The Chargers looked primed to emerge as a legitimate contender in the 2022 season after a series of solid offseason moves, which included bolstering the defense with Khalil Mack and J.C. Jackson. But their success starts and ends with the play of Herbert, and the organization is fully behind him.