Odds are Nick Herbig will be watching T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith from the sideline on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ first defensive snap of the season. That’s not too big of a concern—he could still see 300-400 snaps this year without any trickeration or shenanigans. But what about if the Steelers do employ a little trickeration? They dabbled gently in a three-OLB look during training camp, and they have the personnel to run it. So, will they?
“I’m not sure. That’s really out of my jurisdiction”, Herbig told Kevin Adams and Jersey Jerry on the Steel Here podcast. “That’s really on TA [Teryl Austin] Mike [Tomlin], the coaches, what they want to do with me. Obviously, I’d love to do that, but we’ll see what happens. Right now I’m just working on my punt protection, figuring out this new kickoff”.
A 2023 fourth-round pick, Nick Herbig served as the Steelers’ fourth outside linebacker as a rookie last season. Despite logging just 191 defensive snaps, he recorded three sacks, two forced fumbles, and five tackles for loss.
As of this writing, the Steelers don’t even have a fourth outside linebacker behind Watt, Highsmith, and Herbig. Part of that is a lack of quality depth, but it’s also partly because of how much they like Herbig. Granted, they have Jeremiah Moon on the Reserve/Injured List with a return designation, so he could be that fourth guy. But he probably won’t play much on defense if everyone else is healthy.
Aside from the fact that the Steelers already toyed around with a three-OLB package, there is reason to believe they could be serious about playing Herbig at times with Watt and Highsmith also on the field.
Earlier this week, head coach Mike Tomlin raved about Nick Herbig’s growth. He went so far as to say that the Steelers are “gonna find a role for a guy like that”, which you don’t always hear about backups. Especially not backups to two highly paid starters like Watt and Highsmith.
Using three pass rushers together wouldn’t exactly be a novel innovation, but it’s not something the Steelers have done frequently. The last time they used it much was in 2021 with Melvin Ingram. They haven’t always had the strongest depth on the edge, though, and Herbig is demanding a role through his play.
While preseason performance needs to be weighed within its proper context, Herbig once again looked sharp and impactful. He led the league with three-and-a-half sacks during the exhibition period, doing everything he can to force his way onto the field.
It will be interesting to see how the Steelers employ Herbig this season, and in what contexts. He only saw 20 or more snaps in a game once as a rookie, and that was due to in-game injury. It also wasn’t one of his strongest performances, coming against the New England Patriots. How does he hold up against a larger body of work? Having both Watt and Highsmith on the field with him won’t hurt.
