Justin Herbert Called Out by NFL Exec, 'Doesn't Have the Maturity Level' of Other QBs

Despite being one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL, Los Angeles Chargers star Justin Herbert still hasn't entered the upper echelon of the league's best.

For the second straight year, Herbert was voted as the No. 7 quarterback in the league in an annual poll conducted by ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. An NFL coordinator suggested that there's one specific thing that has held him back from reaching the next level.

"He plays young," the coordinator said of Herbert. "He's incredibly talented and has made progress, but he doesn't have the maturity level of the other guys as far as how he runs the overall operation and mastery of the position."

Here's the full top 10 list of quarterbacks ahead of the 2026 campaign:

1. Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills
2. Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
3. Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams
4. Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals
5. Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens
6. Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys
7. Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers
8. Drake Maye, New England Patriots
9. Jared Goff, Detroit Lions
10. Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears

At 28 years old, Herbert is undoubtedly one of the brightest young stars in the league. He's thrown for 20 or more touchdowns in all six of his NFL seasons, completing over 65 percent of his passes each year. Fowler noted that he was listed on nearly 80 percent of the ballots.

"If you're picking quarterbacks to build around, you're still taking him pretty high," an NFL personnel exec said.

Still, Herbert has yet to achieve a playoff win in his young career. The Chargers have been bounced out of the postseason in the wild-card round in three of the last four seasons. In last year's 16-3 playoff loss to the New England Patriots, Herbert threw for just 159 yards while losing a fumble and getting sacked six times.

Despite the tough end to last year, Herbert is expected to take another step forward in 2026 after the Chargers hired former Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel as their new offensive coordinator. McDaniel will hopefully make life easier for the signal-caller as he tries to lead Los Angeles to new heights.

"There's a reason the Chargers OC job was the best one available -- because of the quarterback," an NFC scout said. "McDaniel should be able to streamline some things for [Herbert], manufacture some layup first downs for him."