Now that the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2023 season is getting underway after the team finished above .500 but failing to make the postseason last year, we turn our attention to the next chapter of Steelers football and everything that entails. One thing that it means is that some stock evaluations are going to start taking on more specific contexts as we get into the season, reflecting more immediate plusses and minus rather than trends over long periods. The nature of the evaluation, whether short-term or long-term, will be noted in the reasoning section below.
Player: OLB Nick Herbig
Stock Value: Up
Reasoning: The rookie outside linebacker is now stacking games in which he makes impact plays. A week after recording his first career NFL sack, Herbig this past Sunday created his first turnover, forcing a fumble against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Another game, another splash play for young OLB Nick Herbig, the rookie fourth-round pick out of Wisconsin. Just a week after tallying his first sack, he followed that up by recording his first forced fumble against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
And what’s notable is that he is finding ways to make an impact in limited opportunities. Over the past two games, he has played all of 21 snaps on defense. He has a sack and a forced fumble in that limited window of opportunity. Not bad.
Herbig has recorded five tackles in the past two games, including the sack, which makes up half of his total tackles on the season. That shows that he is finding more ways to make an impact and get involved in his time allotted as he gets more comfortable.
Not that there is necessarily much room for more opportunity in the defense. He is playing behind T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith, a duo that many consider to be the best edge tandem in football. The former is in the discussion as the greatest defender in the game today, and Highsmith is a Pro Bowl-caliber complement.
Plus, Herbig has to split time with Markus Golden in the rotation, and Golden is a long-time proven NFL veteran who already has two sacks on the season. But let’s face it, if the Steelers are struggling to find enough snaps for their pass rushers, that’s a good problem to have. Goodness knows they have their share of bad problems.
Ninety-nine of them, to be exact, but Herbig ain’t one.
