Rookie OLB Nick Herbig has been a frequent topic of conversation throughout training camp. He has proven to be a headache to defend for many of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offensive linemen with his combination of natural speed and agility paired with a commitment to building his pass-rush repertoire.
While he’s arguably slowed down some in recent days, or at least has been better defended, Herbig made his mark in his NFL debut last Friday in the team’s first preseason game. Rookie OT Broderick Jones is his roommate in addition to his practice partner, and the only reason he didn’t come away impressed was because he wasn’t surprised.
“I already knew what he was capable of before the game”, he told reporters earlier this week about Herbig’s performance against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, via the team’s website. “He’s really elusive. I’m happy for him. He had a couple nicks and dings that he had to work through, but just seeing him out there, he got two sacks in 13 snaps. You tell me what that looks like, so…”.
For bookkeeping purposes only, it was technically 1.5 sacks, one split with DL DeMarvin Leal, though arguably Herbig did the bulk of the work in producing the takedown anyway. And his snap count was limited, which further heightens the value of what he did produce.
The Wisconsin product suffered a hip flexor injury not long before the game and had been held out of some practices. It was not clear whether he would even play. He did suit up and participated in limited work on special teams in the first half, but he did not play on defense until the second half.
It shouldn’t be a surprise for a rookie’s training camp to have its ups and downs, of course, and yesterday was a down day for Herbig, based on Alex Kozora’s diary. He struggled in a one-on-one pass-rush setting, losing multiple times to both Jones and Dan Moore Jr.
It’s likely that a familiarity effect is sinking in as the left tackles grow more comfortable with what to expect when they see Herbig across from them. The Buccaneers didn’t have that luxury, nor will any of the Steelers’ opponents, for that matter.
One wonders how close to full health he might be, as well, or if that hip flexor is still bothering him at all. Either way, everything that he is going through during his period, good or bad, win or lose, is a valuable learning experience from which he should only get better.
Pittsburgh’s next preseason game is on Saturday night at home against the Buffalo Bills. It will be the next opportunity for Herbig to show his growth, and against a higher level of competition than he saw in Tampa last week, since Buffalo should at least be playing its starters. By the time Herbig gets in, the second-string line should still be out there.
