Austin Ekeler says Chargers ‘didn’t realize’ Justin Herbert would be so good this soon

Austin Ekeler says no one on the Los Angeles Chargers knew Justin Herbert would be this good this soon.

Justin Herbert wasn’t the starting quarterback for the Los Angeles Chargers entering their season opener. One sensational rookie season later, it’s hard to imagine anyone else starting under center in LA for the foreseeable future.

According to Chargers running back Austin Ekeler, no one expected that to be the case.

“You get into the second game and some freak accident happens to Tyrod [Taylor], he gets his lung punctured, and then Justin Herbert’s going in the game,” Ekeler said. “And from there on, he kinda just forced his way into the starting role, which took everyone by surprise. Like, we knew he was good, but we didn’t realize that he’d be that good that early.”

In 15 games, Hebert threw for 4,996 yards and 31 touchdowns compared to 10 interceptions. He completed 66.6 percent of his passes and was named both Rookie of the Year and Offensive Rookie of the Year.

He also broke NFL records for most completions by a rookie quarterback (396), most 300-yard games by a rookie quarterback (eight), most passing touchdowns by a rookie quarterback (31) and most total touchdowns by a rookie quarterback (36).

Ekeler said the team knew Herbert would be good, but they didn’t know how great he’d perform under the bright lights once the real games started.

“You can tell at other positions, but quarterback’s the position where there’s so much mental part of the game, it’s not just physical like blocking people or making people move. It’s like, you have to make good decisions, and there’s just a little bit more to that position,” he said. “It’s hard to tell. We knew he was good — obviously he’d better be, he’s our first-round pick! But we didn’t know how good.”

Ekeler is optimistic about Herbert and the Chargers in Year 2

Despite their 7-9 finish to the season, the Chargers lost a number of close games. With Herbert under center and Ekeler hopefully staying healthy all season, the running back believes Los Angeles should be a contender next year.

“I thought we should’ve been a playoff team last year, man,” he said. “The NFL is all a game of inches. Teams are not far away from getting in … I feel like we’re just right in that middle section, and so it comes down to our team chemistry and leadership. We have the playmakers, that’s why we were able to win some games, but I say it to my guys all the time, ‘If you’re good in the NFL, you’re gonna go 8-8, 7-9, 9-7. To get to the next step, you’ve got to have those playmakers making plays on a more consistent basis.'”

Austin Ekeler spoke to FanSided on behalf of Sleep Number and the Sleep Number 360 smart bed.