The Pittsburgh Steelers are through the first week of training camp practice and just concluded their second padded practice on Wednesday morning. A few notable Steelers have been spotted at camp, including Troy Polamalu and now James Harrison. After practice today, Harrison coached up second-year OLB Nick Herbig on his signature rip move after practice via a video posted by College2Pro’s Bo Marchionte on X.
Herbig was selected in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL Draft. He didn’t get a ton of run last season as the fourth outside linebacker on the depth chart, but he left a huge impression with the limited snaps he received.
He appeared in all 17 games and played 191 snaps on defense. In those 191 snaps, he tallied three sacks, five tackles for loss, 27 combined tackles, three quarterback hits, and two forced fumbles. Each of those forced fumbles had a massive impact on the games. That includes him basically sealing a victory for the Steelers in a must-win game against the Seattle Seahawks.
There were a lot of questions whether Herbig would be moved to inside linebacker when he was drafted as a 6021, 240-pound edge rusher. He quickly proved that he has what it takes to play on the edge.
With Markus Golden no longer on the roster, Herbig is the third OLB on the depth chart and should receive a nice bump in his snap totals as a result. Reports have also been very favorable for Herbig over the spring and early summer. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette insider Brian Batko noted that he looks more like an NFL edge rusher entering his second season. Herbig himself noted he didn’t necessarily add weight, but he changed his body composition and cut down on some of the unnecessary fat.
Herbig was also seen getting offseason work in with both T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith. Add Harrison, and he is surrounding himself with some excellent teachers of the craft.
