Once T.J. Watt went down last year, it felt like the Pittsburgh Steelers had only one starting-caliber outside linebacker. This year, it feels like they have four. Watt returns healthy opposite of breakout player Alex Highsmith. In what was a clear need, Pittsburgh bolstered their depth in the offseason, drafting rookie Nick Herbig in the fourth round while signing Markus Golden to a cheap, one-year deal.
Herbig and Golden have had good camps with the team but Herbig’s been one of the summer’s stars, dominating the preseason with 3.5 sacks and multiple pressures. Now, Pittsburgh has to find a way to get all their talent on the field. Defensive coordinator Teryl Austin doesn’t see it as much of a problem or at least, a good one to work through.
“There will be reps and I think no matter how many he gets, I think he’ll do something with them,” Austin said via Steelers.com Saturday. “If he’s a 10, 15, 20-rep guy, I think he’ll do a great job with them. Hopefully we get into some situations in two-minute where he’s got to rush to passer and those guys have to rotate in there and we keep them fresh.”
Herbig has been electric all summer. His first-step and burst was noticeable even before the pads came on and when they did, Herbig showed he’s more than athlete. A smart pass rusher with a long list of ways to win, he gave Steelers’ tackles fits in camp, there were great battles with fellow rookie OT Broderick Jones, while he flew around the ball all summer.
Inside stadiums, Herbig really turned things on. According to our charting, he registered seven pressures on just 43 pass rush snaps this summer, a stellar 16.3-percent rate. He turned that into 3.5 sacks and a forced fumble and they didn’t come in bunches. He recorded at least one sack in all three of his preseason outings.
It may be tough to find room behind two stars in Watt and Highsmith but Austin is confident it’ll all work out.
“He’s gonna get the snaps. I think he’ll get probably what he deserves and we’ll go from there. And if he earns more, then he earns more.”
Austin went on to praise the quality of Herbig’s rushes. He’s not a one-note pass rusher or someone lucking himself into box scores with coverage sacks or anything fluky.
“He’s not just a run-up-the-field guy. He uses technique and moves. He looks like he’s studied the people he’s gonna play against and he does that for a young guy. I think he does that really well. That’s been kind of eye-opening.”t
Herbig has a deep arsenal of moves, ones he brought from Wisconsin to ones he picked up from Watt, Highsmith, and Golden. There’s his ghost move, his dip and rip, his cross chop, his swipe, his spin, and even a good amount of power on his bull rush.
His run defense might not be as impressive but Austin said Herbig is “not deficient” in that area and he’s certainly made stops against the run this summer, using his speed and athleticism to fly into backfields and chase plays from the backside.
Herbig is this varied so early into his NFL career and should only get better in time. And with more reps. Austin doesn’t know exactly how many he’ll get but it’s safe to say after this kind of summer, Herbig will see the field his rookie year.
