Justin Herbert has spent most of his NFL career hearing the same debate: the numbers are there, the talent is obvious, but where does he really stack up with the league’s best quarterbacks?
Bleacher Report just gave him a pretty loud answer.
Herbert landed at No. 3 in B/R’s NFL 1000 quarterback rankings, slotting him ahead of Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson. Only Matthew Stafford and Josh Allen were placed above the Chargers star.
What makes the placement stand out is how close the race was with Mahomes. Herbert and Mahomes each received an overall grade of 91 out of 100, and Bleacher Report said its tiebreaker came down to a majority vote among scouts. That vote pushed Herbert up to third and dropped Mahomes to fourth.
The scouting report was strong across the board for Herbert. He earned a perfect 15 for arm talent, and also posted solid marks for accuracy, processing, leadership and pocket presence. B/R’s original evaluation highlighted his elite arm strength, advanced pocket awareness and athleticism.
That belief in Herbert comes after a 2025 season in which he helped Los Angeles go 11-5 and reach the playoffs, doing it while dealing with injuries around him and still finding ways to lift the offense.
The report wasn’t a pure lovefest, though. Bleacher Report also pointed to some of Herbert’s worst decisions and throws coming when pressure arrived from opposing defenses.
Even with that caveat, the evaluators still placed him above quarterbacks with far more postseason hardware. Mahomes, after all, owns three Super Bowl victories and has repeatedly kept AFC rivals from getting to the championship stage. Herbert hasn’t come close to matching that kind of playoff resume yet.
That’s why the ranking reads more like a snapshot of current quarterback play and individual skill than a statement about career accomplishments. Stafford claimed the top spot after an MVP season that featured more than 4,700 passing yards and 46 touchdowns, with Allen second, Herbert third, Mahomes fourth and Burrow fifth.
For the Chargers, the message is simple: their franchise quarterback is getting elite-level respect. Now Herbert has to turn that into the one thing that still separates him from the names above him - a postseason run that changes the conversation for good.
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