Willing to Replicate the Michigan Model, Jim Harbaugh Advised to Give Justin Herbert a “Run Game” by Chargers’ WR

One thing that screams a classic Jim Harbaugh offense is running the ball and the Maize n’ Blue fans know it all too well. Harbaugh fashioned the Michigan offense with all the precision, making the receivers and backs fall in love with running the ball. The results spoke volumes, but the fans from the bleachers hollered one phrase even more loudly “Run the damn ball!” All the cheering paid off for Michigan at the end, as Harbaugh’s offense handed the ball off over 550 times, in comparison to their 400 pass attempts. And a National Championship win, of course.

Now back in the pro league, Jim Harbaugh is plotting to deploy an even scarier-looking run-heavy offense. Greg Roman might be the charge, but the architect of the offense at the Los Angeles Chargers is Jim Harbaugh. Since running the damn ball is such a crucial part of the Jim Harbaugh offense, the Chargers would be the first ones to capitalize on one of the best guys who knows how to run the ball, right?

Well… not really. The Chargers are rather in rumors for wanting to trade him. Justin Herbert, who averaged 4.4 points in the 2023 season, who ran for 228 yards with the ball in the 13 games of the season, and who made 11 rushing touchdowns out of it, is being rumored to go to the Vikings. The die-hard Chargers fans were crestfallen when the fresh WR of the Chargers, Hayden Hurst came in with his suggestion to Jim Harbaugh: to retain the ‘deadly’ run game of Justin Herbert.

“I mean, you give him a run game and he’s going to be able to throw it all over the place. I mean, man, we all see what he can do through the air. You pair up a run game with that, I think the sky is the limit for this place,” Hurst heaped the praise on Justin Herbert. Yet, it didn’t stop him from highlighting the fundamental flaw in Justin Herbert’s game. “That’s the one thing he hasn’t had, is a consistent run game,” Hurst stated. While that’s a reason enough for Harbaugh to consider Herbert out of his revamped roster, it might not be the only one.

The most talked-about reason for Justin Herbert’s trade

JJ McCarthy. The QB is the hottest-in-demand QB in the trade market of the 2024 NFL draft. Several experts have speculated the Justin Herbert trade stemmed from Jim Harbaugh wanting to draft the QB he considers, “plays quarterback the best of any quarterback in the draft.” Harbaugh’s praise for McCarthy might be a huge giveaway but it’s not the only giveaway of the Chargers preference.

Jim Harbaugh is looking forward to replicating the NFL-sized model of Michigan’s offense at the Chargers. A model that JJ McCarthy knows like the back of his hand. That paired with McCarthy’s familiarity with the former Michigan staff at the Chargers makes it all too convincing.

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This narrative, however, goes against the other narrative swirling around in the NFL draft market of Jim Harbaugh and Co. picking a top WR at no.5 and pairing him up with Justin Herbert to make the perfect explosive QB-WR pair. The chances of either of the narratives unfolding on April 25 are equally high. Between all the anticipation, which road do you think will Jim Harbaugh choose?

READ MORE: J.J McCarthy & Co Take Notes as Justin Herbert Shares Valuable Insight to Deal with Noise Around the NFL Draft