Walter Yeates here of the Saloon Sports scouting team with Ben Laviner. We will bring you yearly scouting reports on all college prospects, not just the big-name players expected to go in the first round. With that, let’s get right into it with Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert.
Name: Justin Herbert
Position: Quarterback
College: Oregon
Height: 6’6’’
Weight: 237
Draft Grade: Second round
Draft Projection: First round
Scout Talk: Oregon Quarterback Justin Herbert
Athletic Ability
Herbert is a coordinated athlete who moves well in the pocket and as a runner. He doesn’t have blazing speed, but he classifies as a good runner who can take advantage of running lanes against man coverage.
Competitiveness
Herbert is a tough player who seems to play whenever he has medical clearance. He’s extremely productive, but his consistency can randomly fall off at times. He puts up great production with a skills group that has problems with drops. While he has an elite offensive line, he isn’t unwilling to take hits as a runner but will slide when he needs to.
Mental Alertness
His teammates speak extremely high in his preparation. Herbert adjusts in-game and won’t force himself into mistakes most of the time. He doesn’t get rattled nor drop his level of play due to the score. His mental alertness looks to be off the charts.
Strength/Durability
He doesn’t play like a bulldozer, but Herbert does have good play strength. He’s had shoulder issues and a concussion during his time at Oregon, but his durability doesn’t seem to be a concern. He has the perfect body frame to sustain a beating and could add more muscle to help him in the long run.
Position Skill
His bouts of inconsistency seem to occur when he begins chopping his feet in the pocket. However, that’s easily correctable and doesn’t take away from his usual outstanding mechanics. He has a rare ability to make all the throws with great situational ball placement. Herbert hangs in the pocket when he’s under pressure, can throw dimes on the run, and can read the defense. He has a very good but not great arm. For comparison, Jacob Eason does have a stronger arm.
Overall
My mathematical grade for Herbert comes to the second round. Due to how the NFL views quarterbacks, I expect him to go in the first and be one of the first three quarterbacks taken if he performs well during the evaluation process. He has elite tier one (out of four tiers) potential, but his bouts of accuracy problems do give me pause that he may be an average quarterback if he doesn’t iron those problems out. I believe he could fit in any system but would be perfect for a hybrid West Coast system with some Vertical Passing scheme options tied in. His athleticism will help him at the next level, if he lands in a situation where he can learn for a season, I project he will sprint into his second season as a tier two quarterback. He is worth a first-round selection off polish and potential alone.
