Justin Herbert Scouting Report
- Watched: Utah, Washington, California (2018), Arizona (2017), Arizona State (2017), Boise State (2017), Oregon State (2017)
- Pros:
- Doesn’t throw lasers, but has strong velocity.
- Not overly fast, but is mobile and coordinated. I’d guess runs a 4.8-4.9 40.
- When kept clean and can throw his passes on a line, it looks great.
- Will slide rather than take the hit.
- Cons:
- Doesn’t consistently recognize underneath coverage.
- Late on reads.
- Struggles throwing on the move.
- Inconsistent ball placement when the pass requires touch.
- Don’t think he’ll be as effective running in the NFL as he is in college.
- A lot of one-read passes; often missed the open guy.
- General:
- Three-quarter type release.
- Mechanics when throwing on the move remind me of Jay Cutler.
- Overall Take:
- Pro-readiness: 6th (out of 9)
- Potential: 4th
- Overall: 5th
- Number Grade (out of 100): 80
- I can’t help but feel a bit disappointed in Justin Herbert in 2019 after the promise he showed early on in his career. All of the physical tools are there and I hoped to see a lot of progress from him during his time at Oregon, but he doesn’t seem to have improved on much over his four years as a starter. He has a strong arm; not an absolute rocket, but strong nonetheless. When the pocket is clean and he can just rip it loose, he looks great; he can wedge passes into tight windows. But when he’s moved off his spot or needs to put touch on his throws, he’s not nearly as impressive. Add some struggles diagnosing the full field of coverage and I’m left with a really interesting prospect from a tools perspective, but there a lot of red flags with him in terms of how he’ll develop in the NFL. I think it’s probably best for him to be drafted to a team where he can sit and learn from a talented offensive mind (whether that be the coach/OC or the starting QB) before ultimately getting his shot at the starting gig himself.
- NFL Comparisons:
- Most Likely Comp: Poor Man’s Jay Cutler
- Peak Comp: Derek Carr
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