If there is one Pittsburgh Steelers backup player who is poised to make a big impact in 2024, it is OLB Nick Herbig. Among other factors, who he is choosing to spend most of his time with is one of the reasons why.
T.J. Watt and Herbig both played at the University of Wisconsin, which was likely a natural icebreaker for Herbig as he earned his roster spot as a 2023 fourth-round pick. The two worked out together this offseason in Wisconsin, and from the sound of it, Herbig won’t leave Watt alone.
“He’s stuck to my hip. I can’t get away from him,” Watt joked in a video posted on the Steelers’ website. “He’s been a sponge to everything, and it’s been cool to see him continue to grow and ask the right questions. And he’s not afraid to ask questions and then go out and try new moves and fail and get better.”
Watt is taking the big brother approach, where he takes little jabs at Herbig in jest. Mike Tomlin previously called Herbig “little Herbig” since his big brother Nate is on the team. After some big-time plays last year, Tomlin elevated him to “Mr. Herbig.” Watt was asked if he has adopted the upgraded title.
“Absolutely not, never will. Not while I’m here,” Watt said with a laugh.
But that is the give and take of a mentor-mentee relationship. Watt shares his wealth of knowledge, and Herbig has to deal with some light joking at his expense.
After flashing high-level play in his rookie season in very limited reps as the fourth outside linebacker on the depth chart, Herbig is now the clear third option after Watt and Alex Highsmith.
He had a monster preseason with 3.5 sacks in just 33 total defensive snaps. That included just 22 pass-rush snaps, by the way. And going back to his learnings from Watt, Herbig credited him for one of his sacks against the Detroit Lions.
The defense has a lot of older players who are closer to the end of their careers than the beginning. Herbig, Keeanu Benton, Joey Porter Jr., and a few others are part of the future core of the defense. Herbig being able to soak up knowledge from Watt is great for that future. Hopefully he can pass that knowledge down to someone else in the future.
