Pittsburgh Steelers OLB Nick Herbig is set to make his first career start on Sunday in place of Alex Highsmith. That means he will line up at the right outside linebacker position, where he’s played 29 of 49 snaps when aligned along the defensive line so far this season. But he played more on the left side in the season opener, then more on the right in Week 2.
Herbig had to play more on the right side in Week 3 after Highsmith suffered a groin injury. But while he will start there, he is still trying to figure out what makes the most sense for him. He may not have a choice—and in an ideal future with the Steelers, he won’t. But it’s still good to know.
“I think it’s with every position in football, whether it’s receiver, corner, d-line, linebacker. You’re gonna play the left side differently than the right side. Your body is just built that way”, Nick Herbig said on Steelers Nation Radio this past week. “You can do different things on the left side than you can do on the right side. I’m kind of just figuring that out, finding your niche”.
During his college career, to his credit, Nick Herbig logged extensive time on both the left and right sides. That experience leaves him pretty ambidextrous, which isn’t the case for everybody coming into the league. He did look comfortable coming off the right side this past week.
But everybody’s body tells them different things, and you feel more comfortable in different positions. This comment from Herbig immediately calls to mind an anecdote from former Steelers star James Harrison about T.J. Watt. As you might recall, Watt started at right outside linebacker as a rookie but has played on the left since.
“T.J. had a move on his left that I saw in practice, where he’s at now. I was like, ‘Yo, why don’t y’all move T.J. to the left?”, Harrison told Ben Roethlisberger in 2022. “I’m not saying I need to get in there, but he got a move on his left side that he can’t do on his right”.
With T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith as established starters, Nick Herbig needs to excel on both sides. But if a scenario should arise in which the Steelers move Highsmith, he would have to play the left. Because I think we all know Watt isn’t going anywhere for as long as he chooses to play.
But if Herbig continues on his current trajectory, he might find a starting job in another city instead. The Steelers might have to decide in a year or two: extend or re-sign Nick Herbig as a starter or let him play out his contract. They won’t be able to sign him to a starter-level contract if Highsmith is still here. You can’t start three outside linebackers.
With two sacks in relief of Highsmith, Nick Herbig has people buzzing about him right now. He has done very well and produced very efficiently on limited snaps up to this point in his career. Sunday provides him with an opportunity to prove that he can handle a full game’s workload, though. That is a new challenge and an important one if it should ever matter on which side he is strongest.
