The Los Angeles Chargers open the season on the road against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sept. 13. When they take the field, a quarterback other than Philip Rivers will start for them for the first time since 2005.
The Chargers took Justin Herbert with the sixth overall pick in the NFL Draft, but the rookie is expected to sit behind veteran Tyrod Taylor this season. Still, Chargers tight end Hunter Henry has been impressed with the 22-year-old.
“He’s good, man,” Henry said on Tiki & Tierney. “Honestly, he’s doing a good job. He’s kind of got some swag about him – kind of got a little oomf to him, a little confidence, a quiet confidence. Obviously spitting out some of these play-calls is obviously pretty hard. I don’t even know if I could do it sometimes with some of these calls. They get so long, I’m like, ‘Goodness, that’s impressive.’ So those can make a young quarterback seem like they don’t really know, but I think he’s pretty confident when he walks in there, and he’s doing a good job.”
Herbert completed 64.0 percent of his passes for 10,541 yards, 95 touchdowns and 23 interceptions in four seasons at Oregon. He also rushed for 13 touchdowns.
Any chance he becomes the Chargers’ starting quarterback this season?
“Tyrod is doing a great job, and I think we’re very confident in what Tyrod’s got with us, so I don’t think we’re in a rush to do anything,” Henry said. “But that’s not up to me. I’m going to leave that in the coaches’ hands and everything. But they’re both competing; they both look great. Tyrod looks awesome, but so does Justin. It's been good to see.”