Chargers Herbert tipped as 'serious contender for MVP': the case for and against

"He can honestly be a serious contender for MVP," continued the co-host on the show - available to Game Pass subscribers on DAZN.

Some fans will read these comments and scoff. Others may even erupt into laughter. Both reactions are entirely reasonable given the Los Angeles Chargers quarterback's recent playoff history.

Others, who have perhaps followed Herbert's career a little more closely and appreciate some of the context behind those dreadful performances, might understand Colon's logic.

Here, we make the case for and against Herbert as a realistic MVP contender.

The case against Herbert as MVP

It's a gross understatement to suggest that Herbert has failed to produce his best in the playoffs, having lost all three of his postseason appearances while throwing only two touchdowns to four interceptions.

The game that sticks in most minds will be the Wild Card horror show against the Houston Texans in 2024, when the Bolts surrendered a 6-0 first-quarter lead, and Herbert threw four picks.

In that contest, Herbert and the Chargers offense managed only six points in the last three quarters, forced to watch on as Houston wideout Nico Collins helped Houston to a dominant 32-12 win.

While LA's defense must share some of the blame, it was, without doubt, the most error-prone performance in Herbert's six-year career.

It doesn't help, of course, that two years prior, the Herbert-led Chargers squandered a 27-point lead to the Jaguars.

In that Wild Card loss, Los Angeles put up only three second-half points as Jacksonville authored a comeback for the ages and ran out 31-30 winners.

And it really doesn't help Herbert's case that last year, he managed only 159 passing yards and zero touchdowns as the Chargers fell flat in yet another Wild Card loss, this time against the Patriots.

Fair or not, in a sport where quarterbacks are the most important players on the field, and in a league where they're judged almost solely on prime-time postseason performances, those performances have undoubtedly left a bad taste in the mouths of even the most ardent Herbert fan.

The case for Herbert as MVP

A much-improved offensive line

Anyone who appreciates the importance of an offensive line knows how even the best gunslingers will fail without adequate blocking.

While Herbert cannot be absolved of his knack for tripping up on the biggest of stages, a porous offensive line has been, by far, his biggest Achilles heel to date.

It's this very point Colon brought up on the show.

Rayshawn Slater, Herbert's blindside protector and by far the best offensive lineman on the roster, was lost for the entire 2025 season after rupturing his patellar tendon in August.

Joe Alt, the Bolts' first-round pick in 2024, suffered two high ankle sprains that limited him to just six games. 

The upshot? Utter devastation. Los Angeles' offensive line graded as one of the poorest in football, and Herbert was pressured a league-high 263 times and sacked 54 times.

It's a wonder the Chargers even made the playoffs, a point made by the man who stirred NFL fans into a frenzy after placing a lone vote for Herbert in last year's MVP contest.

It certainly helps that both Slater and Alt are back. And GM Joe Hortiz, after watching Herbert get sacked six times in that loss to the Patriots in January, has invested heavily in adding more capable blockers.

In free agency, the Chargers signed center Tyler Biadasz, guard Cole Strange, and blocking tight end Charlie Kolar.

Then there was the draft, where Hortiz spent four of the Bolts' eight picks on the offensive line, including second-round center Jake Slaughter, who is in line to compete for a guard spot.

A new offensive coordinator in Mike McDaniel

The Chargers hired one of the most creative offensive minds in the game this offseason.

McDaniel arrives from Miami, where he went 35-33 as head coach and led the Dolphins to back-to-back playoff appearances in 2022 and 2023, the first since 2000 and 2001.

Save for the 2025 version of the Dolphins, McDaniels' offenses have been electric.

In 2023, Miami led the league in total offense and passing offense and ranked second in scoring.

They became just the 18th team in NFL history to boast a 4,000-yard passer, a 1,000-yard rusher, and two 1,000-yard receivers in the same season.

Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh is certainly a fan, describing how McDaniel has ushered in a "paradigm shift in ways I've thought about football" since arriving in LA.

Offensive weapons with upside

It's a young skill group, but one dripping in potential.

Last year's first-round running back Omarion Hampton, who missed eight games with injuries, is widely tipped to enjoy a strong year in his sophomore campaign.

At wideout, Ladd McConkey, who endured a down year after breaking out as a rookie, should bounce back with veteran Keenan Allen no longer in town.

Tre Harris, who started slowly in his rookie year, has the talent to take on a bigger role in year two alongside Quentin Johnston, who has every reason to push on after having his fifth-year option exercised.

Completing that group is former Mississippi State wideout Brenen Thompson, whom McDaniel lobbied hard for in the fourth round of the 2026 NFL Draft.

Finally, there's Oronde Gadsden, a surprise breakout at tight end, who - despite needing to progress as a blocker - became a trusted field-stretcher for Herbert last year.

So, can Herbert win the MVP in 2026?

Possibly, he's somewhere between fourth and seventh in current odds, depending on which oddsmaker you care to use.

Truthfully, he needs a lot of things to go his way, and the likes of Matthew Stafford and Co. have a distinct advantage.

But if all the pieces fall into place, stranger things have happened.