Oregon Football: Justin Herbert ranked NFL’s No. 56 player for 2021

From the No. 6 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft to the No. 56 player in the entire NFL, Oregon football legend Justin Herbert has had quite the year.

After a successful career with the Ducks, Herbert entered the 2020 draft as one of the top quarterbacks and was selected by the Los Angeles Chargers to replace Philip Rivers. He didn’t disappoint in year one, swiping the starting job after a couple of weeks and he looked like a future All-Pro.

Herbert won NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year after passing for 4,336 yards and 31 touchdowns with just 10 picks and a completion rate of about 67 percent.

Oregon fans aren’t surprised that he has found success at the next level, but I’m not sure anyone expected this level of success this early on. He ranked sixth in the NFL in passing yards, 10th in touchdown passes, and 13th in QBR.

Now, he’s earning high praise in NFL.com’s top 100 players list for 2021.

As mentioned earlier, he was ranked No. 56 in the league after obviously not being ranked ahead of his rookie year so his jump was one of the biggest on the list. He was ranked one spot behind teammate Keenan Allen who is expected to excel with Herbert as his quarterback.

There’s no doubt that Herbert will be the highest-ranked second-year passer on this list.

Accolades piling up for the former Oregon football star

Herbert adds Offensive Rookie of the Year honors as well as the preseason No. 56 ranking in terms of NFL players for 2021 to his growing list of accolades.

The former Oregon quarterback was also a top-10 NFL draft pick, won the 2020 Rose Bowl MVP, the 2020 Senior Bowl MVP, the “Academic Heisman”, was named to multiple All-Pac-12 teams, and was a three-time All-American.

Herbert’s instant success in the NFL should surprise no one.