Justin Herbert Turns Two Drives Into a Fumble and a 65-Yard TD
Herbert played just three plays in the preseason opener and two series Thursday — one ended in a lost fumble, the other in a 65-yard strike.
Preseason cameo means nothing — he's a locked-in QB1 draft target.
- Herbert: 2-of-3 for 74 yards, 1 TD Thursday
- Lost fumble on his second play of the game
- 65-yard TD to Quentin Johnston in Q1
- Herbert: 26 TD, 0 INT in 2025 (actual)
- Trey Lance took over to open Q2
Justin Herbert's Thursday night against the Rams lasted two series and produced the full spectrum of Chargers football. On his second play, the ball slipped out of his hands for a lost fumble. Two plays later, he uncorked a 65-yard touchdown to Quentin Johnston. Final line: 2-of-3 for 74 yards and a score before Trey Lance took over to start the second quarter.
That's Herbert's preseason in a nutshell — a grand total of five snaps across two exhibitions. Last week against the 49ers he ran three plays, going 1-of-2 for nine yards on a three-and-out. This is exactly what you want from a franchise QB in August: minimal exposure, maximum efficiency, and out before anyone can get hurt.
The Johnston connection is the piece worth filing away. The 65-yarder is precisely the kind of explosive play that turned Johnston into a legitimate fantasy contributor last year — he posted 51 catches for 735 yards and 8 TDs across 14 games in 2025 (actual), good for 171 PPR points. Our rankings have him at WR31 (No. 91 overall), and chemistry like this is how he climbs.
What It Means for Your Draft
Nobody should be reading tea leaves into a fumble on a preseason snap. Herbert threw 26 touchdowns against zero interceptions over 16 games in 2025 (actual), chipped in 498 rushing yards and two scores, and finished with 313 PPR points. Our model has him at QB8, No. 18 overall — a rock-solid QB1 with a rushing floor that plays every week.
The one soft spot: his last five games of 2025 ran about three fantasy points below his season average, so temper expectations of a top-three ceiling unless the offense clicks early. Johnston, meanwhile, trended down late too, dipping 2.4 points below his average over his final five. Neither trend should scare you off — both are draftable — but they're worth knowing.
Bottom line for managers: Herbert is a hold-and-draft-with-confidence QB1, and Thursday's cameo changes nothing about that. Johnston is a fine mid-round WR3/flex dart with real upside if that deep-ball rapport carries into September. And Trey Lance — 16 PPR points on the season in 2025 (actual) — remains strictly a name to know only if Herbert misses time.
