As Justin Herbert enters his seventh NFL season, the Los Angeles Chargers are still searching for that elusive postseason breakthrough. With zero playoff wins on his resume, the franchise is turning to a new offensive mind to unlock the full potential of their star quarterback.

Enter Mike McDaniel, the former Miami Dolphins head coach who now faces perhaps his biggest challenge yet: getting Herbert to truly "own the position" in ways he never has before.

"He has the capability of mastering every tool in the toolbox," McDaniel said Friday, via ESPN's Kris Rhim. "For him to own the position in a way he never has and ultimately for it to be obvious to everyone around, he's playing the best football of his career."

The vision is clear, but the path requires change. One specific area of focus? Herbert's efficiency on quick throws—a part of his game that has room for growth, especially given his reputation for extending plays and launching deep passes.

"Finding a more detailed approach to max out those quick throws in conjunction with all the things that you know he's capable of doing," McDaniel explained. "Which is extend plays and launch it down the field."

For a quarterback who has played a certain way for six seasons, embracing change isn't automatic. But McDaniel says Herbert has been surprisingly open to the adjustments.

"Typically, elite performers don't like to try new things," McDaniel noted. "He's really let go, been all in."

And Herbert should be all in. Last season, he finished outside the top 10 in passer rating. In fact, he's only cracked that top 10 once in his entire career—when he ranked seventh in 2024 with a 101.7 rating. Meanwhile, the noise grows louder: despite the Chargers' internal efforts to shield him from blame, questions linger about whether Herbert is partially responsible for not reaching the heights his talent suggests.

After six seasons, the uncomfortable question emerges: Is Herbert destined to be good but not great?

McDaniel, who coaxed impressive performances from Tua Tagovailoa in Miami—a quarterback drafted just one spot before Herbert—believes there's more to unlock. For Chargers fans and fantasy owners alike, the hope is that this new chapter finally delivers the postseason success that has so far eluded one of the NFL's most gifted arms.