As the Chargers work their way through four weeks of OTAs, we’re seeing some exciting new players stand out and the team culture flourish. Everyone is hungry for kickoff and ready to seek redemption after the previous year’s heartbreaking ending. Over the course of the 2022 season, the Bolts had their struggles; from injuries to the offensive scheme, it wasn’t an easy road to the playoffs – and someone who saw less production because of this was quarterback Justin Herbert.
Since entering the league in 2020, Herbert has stood out among young quarterbacks; touting impressive stat lines, athleticism, and an elite pocket presence. In 2021, he remained one of the top 5 – and more often than not top 2 – quarterbacks in the league in nearly every possible stat. The expectation was that production would continue to increase, but with a rib injury, an injured roster, and a scheme that failed to highlight his best qualities – the production dropped. Yet through these highs and lows in his first 3 years, one thing has been consistent: his throwing mechanics.
For his first three seasons, Herbert’s throwing mechanics was that of a low-release side-arm variety. The side-arm throw is a mechanic that quarterbacks, like Patrick Mahomes use as a means of passing around a defensive player or as a tricky pass when scrambling to the right. We saw Herbert execute many of these passes in 2020 and 2021. Still, the mechanic continued to embed itself into his overall throwing motion in the 2022 season – which could have been a byproduct of his rib injury or just a general coaching strategy on Shane Day’s part. As we continue to watch Herbert in OTAs this summer, we can see a clear change in the way he passes the football. His release is higher, the arc of the pass is lifted, and thankfully the velocity is still of an elite caliber.
🔟 back at it pic.twitter.com/n6gy3Qorit
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) May 15, 2023
