The Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2023 offseason practices concluded in the middle of June and next up is their annual training camp, which gets underway in late July at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe. Ahead of training camp, we will preview the team’s offseason roster three players at a time for you as part of a 30-post series. This Steelers roster preview, which includes outlooks for every player, will be done alphabetically by last name to make it easy to follow.
The next three players we will preview ahead of Steelers 2023 training camp are Nate Herbig, Nick Herbig, and Cameron Heyward.
G Nate Herbig: The Steelers signed Herbig in March to a two-year, $8 million contract that included a $2.92 million signing bonus. Herbig entered the NFL in 2019 with the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent out of Stanford. He played his first three seasons in Philadelphia and his fourth was spent with the New York Jets last season. Herbig has played in 44 total regular-season games with 28 total starts. Eleven of those starts came with the Jets in 2022. He played 706 offensive snaps in 2022 and has logged 2,083 total snaps on offense since entering the NFL. He has been penalized 12 times in his NFL career with seven of those being holding calls.
Outlook: As we sit here in early July, Herbig seems poised to be the primary swing guard backup for the Steelers in 2023. While he has mostly played right guard in the NFL in his four seasons, he does have experience playing the left guard spot as well. He even has a small amount of center experience so he could be used at that position in an emergency situation. Barring long-term injuries on the Steelers’ offensive line, Herbig isn’t likely to see a lot of playing time in his first season in Pittsburgh. That said, he should be an active player every week.
OLB Nick Herbig: The Steelers selected Herbig in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL Draft out of Wisconsin, where he registered 134 total tackles, 36 for loss, 21 sacks, seven passes defensed, four forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries over three seasons and 31 games played. At the 2023 NFL Combine, Herbig measured in at 6021, 240-pounds with 31 1/4-inch arms. He scored a 7.75 RAS out of a possible 10.00 at the Combine.
Outlook: The biggest aspect when it comes to Herbig moving forward in his NFL career are his overall measurables. Will those result in him moving to inside linebacker down the road? For now, Herbig is an outside linebacker for the Steelers and there’s no sign of that changing anytime soon. That said, at best, he will start the 2023 regular season as the fourth outside linebacker on the depth chart, which means he shouldn’t see much playing time on defense as a rookie, barring injuries. Herbig should be a core special teams player for the Steelers in 2023, and he should be able to excel in that phase of the game based on his style of play and overall athleticism.
DT Cameron Heyward: The 2022 season was an overall great one for Heyward as the former first-round draft pick out of Ohio State registered 74 total tackles, 14 for loss, 10.5 sacks, 23 quarterback hits, four passes defensed, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery in 17 regular-season games. He played 801 total defensive snaps in 2022, his fewest since 2017. His 75 percent of snaps played was also his lowest percentage since 2012. Heyward was a Pro Bowl selection in 2022 for his efforts and received 14 All-Pro votes.
Outlook: While Heyward is now 34 years of age, he has shown no real signs of slowing down. It was good to see him be so productive in a little lower percentage of defensive snaps played in 2022 as well. It would be great to see Heyward match his 75 percent defensive playing time in 2023 as that should help keep him fresh and productive like last season. Additionally, having fellow defensive lineman Larry Ogunjobi fully healthy in 2023 should help Heyward’s cause as well. Assuming Heyward can stay healthy and play in at least 16 regular-season games in 2023, he should be headed for another fine season and potentially even make a run at another first-team All-Pro designation. The Steelers’ front five looks impressive heading into 2023 and Heyward is a big part of why that is.
Previous Posts In This Series:
90 In 30: Steelers 2023 Training Camp Preview Series: Montravius Adams, Spencer Anderson, Calvin Austin III
90 In 30: Steelers 2023 Training Camp Preview Series: Luq Barcoo, Keeanu Benton, Chris Boswell
90 In 30: Steelers 2023 Training Camp Preview Series: Miles Boykin, Ja’Marcus Bradley, Hakeem Butler
90 In 30: Steelers 2023 Training Camp Preview Series: Jordan Byrd, Dan Chisena, Le’Raven Clark
90 In 30: Steelers 2023 Training Camp Preview Series: Mason Cole, Dylan Cook, James Daniels
90 In 30: Steelers 2023 Training Camp Preview Series: Duke Dawson, Kevin Dotson, William Dunkle
90 In 30: Steelers 2023 Training Camp Preview Series: Breiden Fehoko, Dez Fitzpatrick, Minkah Fitzpatrick
90 In 30: Steelers 2023 Training Camp Preview Series: Pat Freiermuth, Zach Gentry, Markus Golden
90 In 30: Steelers 2023 Training Camp Preview Series: Alfonzo Graham, Kendrick Green, Darius Hagans
90 In 30: Steelers 2023 Training Camp Preview Series: Madre Harper, Najee Harris, Pressley Harvin III
