Of all the young impressive players on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ roster, Nick Herbig might sit at the top. The team’s biggest sponge, he’s taken full advantage of working with and learning from T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, and even the occasional cameo appearance by James Harrison. It’s made Herbig a better player and potentially the next great Steelers pass rusher.
Herbig capped an impressive preseason with a dominant performance in Saturday’s 24-17 loss to the Detroit Lions. By the end of the first quarter, Herbig had two sacks as the Steelers’ rush dropped Lions QB Hendon Hooker five times in the first 30 minutes.
Speaking to reporters after the game, Herbig credited his second sack to Watt.
“It was something that he taught me,” Herbig told reporters via the Steelers’ team site. “That’s all I know.”
Herbig’s second sack came before hardly more than five minutes had gone by in the quarter. On a 3rd and forever, Herbig used a cross chop to beat the Lions’ right tackle, corner, flatten, and strip-sack Hooker while finishing with a forced fumble. DL Dean Lowry recovered the ball to complete the takeaway.
As a rookie, Watt and company praised Herbig for asking questions and learning from some of the best pass rushers in football. This summer, Watt and Herbig worked by themselves on rush moves before practice, spending 10 minutes trading off as they worked on their hand placement and rushes.
Herbig was one part of the Steelers’ impressive and consistent rush, teaming up with fellow Wisconsin Badgers Keeanu Benton and Isaiahh Loudermilk to consistently be in Detroit’s backfield during the first half. Herbig and rookie Julius Welschof each had two sacks while DeMarvin Leal and Benton had a half-sack each. Pressure also came from EDGE Kyron Johnson, who forced Hooker off his spots and into waiting arms of his teammates.
Herbig is arguably one of the top No. 3 rushers in football and would start on many teams that don’t have two All-Pro/Pro Bowl caliber players in Watt and Highsmith, two men being paid as such. Despite that road block, Pittsburgh will find ways to get all three on the field, briefly showing three OLB looks in training camp. And there won’t be any hesitation to rotate Herbig into the lineup to give the starters a rest. Watt and Highsmith might also have more confidence coming off the field, knowing Herbig can step in with little drop-off.
With Herbig and Benton emerging along with veterans DL Cam Heyward and LB Patrick Queen, Pittsburgh is building another elite front seven. That will take pressure off its secondary and ease concerns over a lack of depth. Any great Pittsburgh defense over the last 50 years has been built on the strength of its d-line and linebackers. The Steelers have one of the NFL’s top groups.
