Remember when we were all saying that LB Nick Herbig would have to kick inside because of his short arms and being a tad undersized for the outside linebacker position at the NFL level? Well Steelers Depot’s very own Tyler Wise had the perfect description for what Herbig thought of all that short arms/undersized chatter after Pittsburgh drafted him.
Since taking the field in the preseason, Nick Herbig has been absolutely on fire for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He has looked relentless in pursuit of the quarterback, posting 3.5 sacks, including yet another in the Steelers’ 24-0 win over the Atlanta Falcons in their preseason finale.
As briefly shown in the clip above, Herbig uses a clean two-hand swipe move on an inside pass rush, catching No. 77 Jalen Mayfield stumbling as he lunges forward, trying to get a hand on Herbig, who beats him with an inside rush after setting up with speed to the outside. Herbig wins easily across Mayfield’s face, burying QB Logan Woodside into the turf for the sack.
Here is a zoomed-in angle of the play. Showing the speed to attack Mayfield’s outside shoulder and the fluidity to counter back inside across his face and swipe the blocker’s hands away, Herbig clears the block with ease. Swimming over Mayfield’s inside shoulder into the pocket, he squares up the quarterback for the slam into the ground.
There are many Steelers that have had strong preseason performances, but it’s hard to choose a handful that have been as impressive and impactful as Herbig. For being a fourth-round rookie out of Wisconsin whom Pittsburgh acquired in a trade down with the Carolina Panthers in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft, Herbig is looking like a certified steal. He is exactly what Pittsburgh needs as an aggressive, skilled pass rusher who can come in and play eight to 10 snaps a game on defense, giving either T.J. Watt or Alex Highsmith a breather while also contributing on special teams.
Herbig may not have been drafted as high as the others in Pittsburgh’s draft class, but he could have just as much of an impact, if not more, than several of the names drafted ahead of him this season. He’ll have to show he can do it against NFL starters during regular-season play. But at the conclusion of the preseason, it looks like the Steelers hit a home run on Nick Herbig.
