Pittsburgh Steelers LB Nick Herbig and T.J. Watt have a longstanding relationship largely in part to the fact they both played college football at Wisconsin, and now the two are playing together off the edge for the Steelers. Herbig played OLB in college but will play a mix of OLB and ILB in the NFL. Still, Pittsburgh wants to give him a shot at OLB, and he talked about picking Watt’s brain and called him “one of the best to ever do it” at Pittsburgh’s OTA session on Wednesday.
“I try to talk to T.J. as much, cause you gotta give people their flowers while they’re here. So just learning from one of the best to ever do it, anything he tells me I’m going to try my best to do and replicate that,” Herbig said via audio provided by the Steelers PR Department.
Not every rookie is lucky enough to have a mentor as accomplished as Watt, and Herbig clearly recognizes that. Being able to pick Watt’s brain and learn from one of the best defensive players in the game today is a huge advantage and something that will benefit Herbig’s game.
The two having a prior relationship also helps. Because of that, Watt has a baseline knowledge of Herbig’s game beyond what he’s shown in team activities so far. That obviously helps when giving him pointers or mentoring him. It’s not as if it’s just any other rookie coming in, as Watt has worked with Herbig in the past and can tailor some of his advice to how Herbig plays.
It’s going to be interesting to see if Herbig can stick at OLB in the NFL. He was productive in college, but his small arm length could hinder his ability to be a productive pass rusher at the NFL level. He has the perfect mentor in Markus Golden for that though, and obviously the help of someone like Watt should continue to help make him into an effective NFL player.
Even if he can’t stick at OLB, Herbig should be just fine in the league as an inside linebacker and definitely as a core special teamer. He has a great motor and plays like his hair is on fire every snap, something that Pittsburgh had to love to see on his tape. He’s motivated and he wants to learn. All those traits make a player who should find success at the NFL level one way or another.
