Chargers' Justin Herbert Plans to Reach out to Drew Brees During Offseason

Justin Herbert had a fantastic rookie season, but the Los Angeles Chargers quarterback isn't settling. Instead, he plans to reach out to quarterback Drew Brees—who worked with new Chargers offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi when he was the quarterbacks coach for the New Orleans Saints—this offseason.

"I plan on doing that," Herbert told reporters. "I was fortunate enough to be able to watch Drew throw this past offseason and he trains with a lot of guys that I do. ... Drew is definitely one of the guys I plan to reach out to because he's been able to do it all and everything he's been able to accomplish I definitely want to do."

Herbert, 22, threw for 4,336 yards (sixth in the NFL), 31 touchdowns (10th) and 10 interceptions during the 2020 campaign, completing 66.6 percent of his passes. Not too shabby for a rookie, and good enough to win Rookie of the Year honors. 

Picking the brain of an NFL legend like Brees is a good way to improve. All Brees has done in his career is win a Super Bowl, get voted into 13 Pro Bowls, earn first-team All-Pro honors in 2006, throw for the most yards in NFL history (80,358), the second-most touchdowns (571) and set the single-season record for completion percentage (74.4 percent) and hold six of the top 10 single-season marks in that statistic. 

Brees also has played in 10 postseasons, while Herbert and the Chargers were unable to reach the playoffs in his opening campaign. The hope will be that many playoff berths are ahead of the team under the watch of Herbert, however. 

The Chargers had a fair amount of success under the franchise's last quarterback, Philip Rivers, who took them to the postseason six times in his 16 years. Rivers also put up elite numbers and is fifth in both passing yards (63,440) and touchdowns (421). The man who replaced Brees in 2005 on the Chargers was no slouch himself. 

And he didn't leave easy shoes for Herbert to fill. But so far, so good for the young quarterback.