Justin Herbert’s latest playoff failure has unleashed a new wave of criticism, with one analyst delivering a brutal reality check for the Chargers’ star quarterback. In the Patriots game, Herbert put forth a poor performance, taking his postseason record to 0-3. Now, FOX Sports’ Nick Wright is discrediting the Chargers signal-caller.

“I’ve never considered him (Herbert) elite,” Wright said on First Things First. “Never, he’s never been elite. Elite traits do not make one an elite player… Almost all elite players have some elite traits. But most of Justin Herbert’s trait measurables are better than Tom Brady’s, he’s got better size, better speed, better arm. Brady had a really strong arm, but Herbert, I think, is stronger. All those things, and they’re in different stratospheres.”

According to Wright, despite having yet another 3,000+ yard season with a career high 54 sacks, he hasn’t entered the upper echelon of the NFL’s top quarterbacks. Furthermore, Wright compared Herbert to Tom Brady, describing the Chargers QB1 as having better physical attributes than the former Patriots legend.

In comparison to Brady, Justin Herbert stands taller at 6’6″ while having elite athleticism highlighted by his 4.68-second 40-yard dash and a 7.06-second 3-cone drill at the 2020 NFL combine. But despite these advantages, the 27-year-old hasn’t maximized his potential.

In 2025, Herbert’s impressive numbers earned him a single MVP vote, but he failed to continue this form into the postseason.

Against the Patriots, Herbert completed 19-of-31 passes for 159 yards, with no touchdowns or interceptions while being sacked six times and fumbling twice, losing one.

However, this wasn’t a one off performance, as in his three career postseason games combined, Justin Herbert has completed 54.7% of his passes for 674 yards, with two touchdowns and four interceptions. He has taken 13 sacks in those games and has a passer rating of 64.7.

With these issues, Justin Herbert is still far away from being one of the top signal-callers in the postseason in the league and probably needs further work to be considered “elite.”

As the Chargers look towards the 2026 season, this could soon change, as the Chargers front office believes working under the new offensive coordinator, Mike McDaniel, will allow Herbert to excel.

Chargers GM believes Justin Herbert will “take off” under Mike McDaniel

In his initial two seasons at the Dolphins, head coach McDaniel got the best out of Tua Tagovailoa, and his presence at the Chargers could be a positive sign for Justin Herbert.

After falling short once again in the postseason, the Los Angeles Chargers attacked the offseason by bringing in one of the best offensive minds in the league.

Talking about this signing, Chargers GM Joe Hortiz believes Herbert will excel with McDaniel designing the offense.

“Through the interview process in our OC search, Mike talked about this is why we did this in Miami, because this is the personnel we had,” Hortiz said during an interview with Pro Football Talk. “Mike is a coach that will literally create his scheme, create his offense based on the players we have. His flexibility as an offensive coordinator and play-caller is one of the things that makes him great. Just knowing the offense, I think Justin’s going to take off in it.”

Whether Justin Herbert will finally live up to his potential, only time will tell. But with Mike McDaniel as his offensive coordinator, the 27-year-old will have a great chance to succeed in the 2026 season.