​It’s safe to say that the 2025 campaign was not the best of Justin Herbert’s career. He wasn’t dealt the best of cards, as both of his star offensive tackles (Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt) and suffered season-ending injuries with other injuries ravaging skill multiple skill positions. It all resulted in a season to forget for the former Oregon Duck, though he still led the Los Angeles Chargers to the playoffs.They were thumped, 16-3, with Herbert under constant pressure while taking six sacks and failing to throw for either 200 yards or a touchdown in 31 attempts.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementYet, NFL personnel league executives, scouts and coaches, when polled by ESPN, voted Herbert as the seventh-best quarterback in the league — a true testament to the entire body of work that he’s showcased in his six seasons since being drafted.The highest that Herbert was ranked was fifth, while the lowest was unranked. He came in at the No. 7 spot last year as well.”‘If you’re picking quarterbacks to build around, you’re still taking him pretty high,” an NFL personnel exec told ESPN.The addition of former Miami Dolphins head coach and offensive mastermind Mike McDaniel should bring Herbert’s game to another level, as he orchestrated some of the league’s best offenses with Tua Tagovaiola at the controls.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement”There’s a reason the Chargers OC job was the best one available — because of the quarterback,” an NFC scout said. “McDaniel should be able to streamline some things for [Herbert], manufacture some layup first downs for him.”While the former Ducks’ talent is evident in every single game that he plays, playoffs have been Herbert’s Achilles heel. He’s appeared in three postseason games, losing all three. He hasn’t played particularly well either, failing to toss a touchdown against the Patriots in 2026 and throwing four interceptions in 2025 against the Houston Texans.The hope is that with a healthy Chargers roster that remains very talented, and the addition of McDaniel, Herbert finally takes the next step and builds upon an excellent regular season with a playoffs to remember. Time will tell, but regardless, Herbert is already one of the top passers in the game in league personnel’s eyes.Just six quarterbacks were ahead of Herbert on the ranking: Josh Allen (1), Patrick Mahomes (2), Matthew Stafford (3), Joe Burrow (4), Lamar Jackson (5) and Dak Prescott (6).AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementContact/Follow @Ducks_Wire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oregon Ducks news, notes, and opinions.This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Justin Herbert outside the top 5 of QBs, per NFL personnel