Justin Herbert’s NFL debut was not planned, but his first professional season was a smashing success.
Herbert was named the NFL AP Offensive Rookie of the Year, as announced on Saturday during the 10th annual event NFL Honors.
Herbert started his first game in an emergency situation, passing the preparations for the Los Angeles Week 2 game against Kansas City with the belief that he would watch the full-back action behind Tyrod Taylor. Then, moments before the start of the game, he was informed that he was playing, surprising everyone so much that, when he reached the huddle, teammate Hunter Henry asked: “What are you doing here?”
The NFL quickly learned that Herbert belonged on the field. Herbert broke multiple rookie records in 2020, breaking Baker Mayfield’s previous mark of 27 passing points by launching 31 touchdown passes in his first season. Herbert finished with the most passing yards per game for a signal rookie in history with 289.1, and also posted the fourth highest rookie score in league history with 98.3.
His Chargers finished 7-9, but not because of Herbert, who finished 2020 in sixth in total passing yards, 10th in pass touchdowns and 12th in passer ranking among all qualified passers.
Herbert’s debut season was notable because of the aforementioned statistics, and also because of where he fell among previous OROY winners. Herbert ended with more wins, yards and touchdowns than OROY Kyler Murray 2019. He joined the other OROY winners, Dak Prescott (2016), Robert Griffin III (2012) and Cam Newton (2011) as the sixth newcomer in the history of NFL, with more than 20 touchdown passes and five more touchdowns for running. And Herbert also posted a season comparable to the NFL Most Valuable Player average, ending with a higher completion percentage (66.6 to 63.4), more yards (4,336, to 3,787), a comparable TD-INT ratio (31-10 to 32-11) and a slightly lower passer rating (98.3 to 101.9) compared to the average numbers compiled by the 44 quarterbacks to win the MVP in the league’s history when entering 2020.
Herbert is the only rookie in NFL history to shoot for more than 4,000 yards after not being chosen as the No. 1 overall. And the first choice of the sixth place overall is just beginning.