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When Justin Herbert was selected by the Los Angeles Chargers with the sixth overall pick of the 2020 draft, nobody could have imagined him lighting up the NFL to the extent he has.
After Joe Burrow was taken by the Cincinnati Bengals and Tua Tagovailoa went to the Miami Dolphins, Herbert was the third quarterback off the draft board, but even Chargers general manager Tom Telesco would be exaggerating if he claimed to anticipate the level Herbert would be playing at 18 months later.
Justin Herbert earned Offensive Rookie of the Year honors in 2020 as the Chargers went 7-9. Four games into his sophomore year, he is raising the bar to all new heights. In his past two matches, Herbert has led the Chargers to wins over the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium and against the Las Vegas Raiders in a divisional clash, throwing seven touchdowns and zero interceptions.
Granted, Justin Herbert is not carrying the Chargers offense alone, but he is showing signs that he is a generational talent and he has already staked a claim to be among the best quarterbacks in the league. If a 23-year-old Herbert continues to mold into a complete passer at this rapid rate, NFL records will begin to fall.
Can Justin Herbert set the passing yards record through two years in the NFL?
The first league record in Justin Herbert's sights could be the record for total passing yards through two years in the NFL. This entry in the history books is currently owned by retired former Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck.
Luck logged 8,196 passing yards between 2012 and 2013 during a pair of 11-5 seasons with the Colts, where he threw 46 touchdowns and 27 interceptions.
Comparing Luck and Herbert's rookie years, Luck threw for 4,374 yards, which is 38 yards more than Herbert totalled (4,336 yards) in his first season in 2020. For Herbert to top Luck's tally after two seasons, the Chargers QB would need to record 3,860 total yards in year two, a number that he is well on pace for.
Justin Herbert has already put up 1,178 yards in four games, at an average of 294.5 yards per game. At this rate, Herbert would smash Luck's two-year record after 14 games of the 2021 season. He's on pace to top 5,000 yards, albeit in a 17-game season.
From there, the sky is the limit for Herbert. Through his first two years as a starter, Patrick Mahomes passed for 9,128 yards – another total that Herbert is on track to surpass. In the years to come, we could be having a straightforward debate about whether Mahomes or Herbert is the number one quarterback in football.
