One or two elite performances in a season can be a coincidence. We are well beyond that with Nick Herbig. PFF released its top five Steelers from Week 13 and Herbig headlined the list.
He’s in just his second season and only has five starts in the NFL, but Herbig is already among the league’s elite at outside linebacker.
For the fourth time in just eight games this season, Herbig registered an “elite” game grade over 90.0 from Pro Football Focus. He was graded as a 91.9 overall against the Bengals, including four total pressures, two tackles for loss, one sack, and a forced fumble.
He was the top-graded Steeler in the win, powered by a 93.8 pass-rush grade.
Herbig was just a half point shy of having an “elite” overall grade for the season, but this game pushed him over the top. He now has a 91.0 overall grade on defense this year and went from the No. 6 EDGE defender to No. 5.
T.J. Watt is No. 2 behind only Aidan Hutchinson, so the Steelers now have two edge rushers in the top five according to Pro Football Focus grades. Alex Highsmith is also No. 13 on the list with an 83.5 overall grade. He has dealt with injuries pretty much all season with groin issues dating back to the preseason. Make no mistake, the Steelers have the best group of pass rushers in the whole league, especially with veteran Preston Smith rounding out the group.
Herbig has four forced fumbles with one in each of the last three games. His game-changing plays aren’t just an anomaly, they are a feature of his play. That makes six forced fumbles for his career and 7.5 sacks.
Along with Herbig, ILB Payton Wilson logged the second-best grade of his career with an 82.2 overall defensive grade. He scored a touchdown off of Herbig’s forced fumble, but he also had three total tackles.
Cameron Heyward and Keeanu Benton rounded out the top five Steelers from this game on the defensive side of the ball. Heyward had a 79.7 while Benton had a 78.9. Heyward had a sack and five total pressures. He also batted one ball, which ended up getting intercepted by Donte Jackson. Benton had one of the better games of his season with three total pressures.
The only offensive player for the Steelers that made PFF’s list was rookie OG Mason McCormick with a 79.6. He did great in both phases with a 75.7 run-blocking grade and a 79.2 pass-blocking grade. He allowed zero pressures and still hasn’t allowed a sack this season in 10 games. He continues to look like a steal in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL Draft.
