Last season, the Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t have quality depth behind starting OLBs T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith. For most of the season, the backups behind Watt and Highsmith were OLBs Malik Reed and Jamir Jones. Reed was a big liability against the run and Jones wasn’t more than a special teams contributor that failed to provide a meaningful pass rush.
Heading into 2023, the Steelers needed to address the depth behind Watt and Highsmith to have quality guys to give either starter a breather or step in if one were to go down to injury like Watt did last season. They accomplished just that, signing OLB Markus Golden as a free agent and drafted OLB Nick Herbig in the fourth-round of the 2023 NFL Draft. DC Teryl Austin was asked about the position on Monday, to which he responded that it’s in a far better place than it was a season ago.
“Well, I think we feel right now we feel pretty good about our edge depth,” Austin said to the media on audio from 93.7 The Fan. Markus Golden is a proven vet and I like what he’s been doing. Nick [Herbig’s] showing it right now in the practice games, and we gotta see if he can take that to the regular season. But I feel better about that position. I feel that those guys, Alex [Highsmith] and T.J. [Watt] will have somebody to give them a spell… quality work behind them and it’ll give us some quality play. So, I feel a little bit better, a lot actually. I feel a lot better about that position.”
The Steelers arguably haven’t had this depth at EDGE since 2020, Highsmith’s rookie year when he was backing up Watt and Bud Dupree before he went down with a torn ACL. Golden is an accomplished pass rusher with three double-digit sack seasons on his resume while Herbig has taken the NFL by storm through the first two preseason games, wreaking havoc on opposing offenses with multiple sacks as well as several pressures.
You never want to see a starter go down to injury, but the Steelers are better prepared for it this time around thanks to the additions of Golden and Herbig. Even if Watt and Highsmith stay healthy, the Steelers can generate quite the rotation between their starters and the reserves, keeping guys fresh and sending wave after wave of pass rushers at opposing offensive lines over the course of the game. Obviously, you expect some drop off from Watt to Golden or Herbig, but to preserve Watt a full season, those guys will do a far better job rotating in than anyone Pittsburgh has had the last several years.
