It’s just two days into training camp for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the football on the field has occurred with just shorts and helmets so it’s hard to read too much into developments. But rookie fourth-round draft pick Nick Herbig certainly looks like he belongs at outside linebacker.
Coming out of the University of Wisconsin with an impressive resume, which included 11.0 sacks in 2022, Herbig was looked at as an outside linebacker with inside versatility in the NFL. That outlook from the Steelers after selecting Herbig to slot behind the likes of T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith at outside linebacker is one that I thought the Steelers were making a mistake with.
Two days into camp, he’s making me look rather wrong with that belief.
Throughout the first two days of camp, Herbig has dominated the competition on Chuck Noll Field, according to Steelers Depot’s own Alex Kozora.
“Herbig has had an awfully impressive first two days of camp. If you want to call a ‘winner’ of the two practices, it’s him,” Kozora wrote in his Day Two training camp diary from Latrobe.
On Day Two, Herbig generated a bunch of pressure and made a number of plays defensively for the Steelers, certainly looking the part in shorts and a helmet at the outside linebacker position. Herbig batted down a pass from backup quarterback Mitch Trubisky and also forced a quick throw on another rep due to his quick pressure off the edge, earning vocal praise from head coach Mike Tomlin.
While the length overall remains a concern with Herbig, considering that EDGE rushers with the lack of length that he has historically don’t do much in the NFL, he is showing early on in camp that the length of his arms is just a number.
At the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine, Herbig checked in with 31 1/4-inch arms, though he did put on 12 pounds following the 2022 season to get up to 240 pounds at the Combine.
Still, his measurements have him on the small side for the position. According to mockdraftable.com, Herbig is in the 54th percentile for weight, 68th percentile for height, 18th percentile for arm length and 21st percentile for hand size.
With Herbig, it’s a major projection at the outside linebacker position due to his arm length. Though Herbig’s height and weight aren’t immediately disqualifying to play on the edge in the NFL, a lack of length and overall body type is more concerning, especially for the Steelers.
But so far, returns are very good.
He’s flying around, making plays and giving tackles a real handful in training camp, though the tackles he’s going against are roster bubble guys in veteran Le’Raven Clark and rookie seventh-round tackle Spencer Anderson, as Kozora pointed out in his Day One diary from camp.
“Context is key but rookie OLB Nick Herbig has a quick first step and turned it into a couple of pressures. However, he was facing OT Le’Raven Clark so he wasn’t beating an All-Pro kind of guy. But Herbig’s burst caught my attention,” Kozora wrote in his Day One diary.
Herbig’s testing numbers were impressive, and his college tape was rather strong overall, especially rushing the passer. Sometimes when evaluating a player we get too caught up in the measurables. Though I am still concerned about the lack of length with Herbig long-term, he is off to a fast start in training camp and certainly looks the part of a decent outside linebacker for the Steelers moving forward.
We’ll see if he can carry his hot start into padded practices and perform against better competition than Clark and Anderson, but it’s hard to not be pleased with the showing Herbig is having early on in camp.
