On the surface, Justin Herbert's 2025 season didn't match his previous ones in terms of gaudy stats.
The Chargers quarterback threw for 3,727 yards, the fewest amount for a season where he played at least 15 games. Herbert also threw 26 touchdowns to go along with 13 interceptions, with the latter stat being the most of his career.
But he also led the Chargers to 11 wins and playoff appearance while dealing with devastating injuries all around him, not to mention his own fractured left hand that he played through for the final month-plus of the season.
And if you really watched the games and were aware of the circumstances, it would't be a stretch to think that Herbert belonged in the MVP conversation for the 2025 season.
Sam Monson certainly thought so, and even went as far to cast the single vote for the Bolts franchise QB in the MVP race. Matthew Stafford won the Associated Press NFL MVP with 24 first-place votes to narrowly edge out Drake Maye, who had 23 first-place submissions.
Chargers.com caught up with Monson on Thursday at the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.
"Simply, I thought Justin Herbert was the most valuable player in the NFL. The AP does their votes, I think we vote on eight or nine awards. MVP is the only one with 'value' in the description," Monson said. "It's the only one with 'value' in the instructions. You know, vote for the player with the most valuable season. And that's obviously a very difficult to quantify, a very amorphous kind of topic.
"But look, the man had an offensive line that was the worst in the NFL. The receiving court didn't necessarily help him out," Monson added. "And yet every single week, Justin Herbert's out there making miracles happen, doing amazing things in the pocket, finding plays and being the only reason they're even in these games, let alone winning them. I think he was the most valuable player in the NFL last year."
Monson, formerly of Pro Football Focus who now hosts the Check the Mic podcast with Steve Palazzolo, also added that Herbert's growth as a quarterback and a leader were on full display in 2025.
"A lot of people look at Justin Herbert and they sort of go, 'This guy gets talked about in a way he hasn't necessarily deserved in the past.' And it's more theory than it is practice," Monson said. "I thought was the first year where you looked at him and [from] start to finish ... I thought you saw the fully-formed version of Justin Herbert, even with the lack of help around him every single week.
"Without question, he was out there looking like one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL," Monson added.