The outside linebacker position in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 3-4 defense is the key cog in the engine year after year. It’s why they invest so heavily at the position and have had some great players at the position over the years.
Entering the 2025 season, it’s the same story for the Steelers. Future Hall of Famer T.J. Watt holds down one spot, while the always dependable Alex Highsmith is on the other side, giving the Steelers a formidable duo.
But, in 2025, it might be time to start calling it a formidable trio. Third-year pass rusher Nick Herbig has emerged as one of the best young players in the league in a rotational role and has a very bright future.
For Pro Football Focus, all three are among the 32 best EDGE defenders in the NFL entering the 2025 season. Both Watt and Highsmith landed inside the top 15, while Herbig just snuck into the top 32, giving the Steelers a great presence at the position moving forward.
Watt lands at No. 3 behind only Cleveland’s Myles Garrett and Dallas’ Micah Parsons.
“Watt is best known for his pass-rushing prowess, which was on full display once again in 2024. His 90.1 PFF pass-rush grade marked the fifth time in six seasons he earned a grade of 90.0 or higher,” PFF’s Ryan Smith writes. “He also took home PFF Run Defender of the Year honors last season, backed by a 1.63-yard average depth of tackle and a 3.2% negatively graded play rate, the lowest among all box defenders in the NFL.”
Watt is the total package, period.
He can rush the passer with the best of them, creates turnovers time and time again with an ability to get a hand on the football and knock it loose, and is quite stout against the run. He’s coming off a down 2024 season though — by his standards.
He had just 11.5 sacks and 53 pressures and dealt with an injury late in the season that slowed him down some. That led to a really disappointing close to the season for the perennial All-Pro as he was held without a single stat in the regular-season finale and the Steelers’ Wild Card round loss.
Though the sacks numbers weren’t there, Watt remained an elite player during the 2024 season. He still found a way to impact games, punching the football out time and again. He led the NFL in forced fumbles on the season with six, even while dealing with the frustration of not being able to get to the quarterback consistently due to the continuous chips and slides in protection toward him.
The attention he receives from opposing offenses snap after snap proves his greatness.
What he needs is for Highsmith to stay healthy this season and continue to perform at a high level when on the field. Highsmith checked in at No. 13 between Houston’s Danielle Hunter and Buffalo’s Gregory Rousseau.
“The Pittsburgh Steelers fielded the NFL’s best defensive line in 2024, and Alex Highsmith was a major factor,” Smith writes. “The fifth-year pro continued his ascent as one of the league’s top edge defenders, earning an 89.0 PFF grade — eighth among 119 qualifying players — despite missing time with an ankle injury. It marked the second consecutive season Highsmith ranked among the top 10 at his position.”
When he was on the field last season, Highsmith was quite good. But he battled injuries in a major way, causing him to miss chunks of time due to groin and ankle ailments.
Highsmith played in 11 of 17 games, marking the fewest he’s played in a season in his career. He saw 525 snaps and finished among PFF’s 10 highest-graded EDGE defenders in football.
He generated an overall grade of 89.5, including a 79.7 against the run and an 89.7 pass-rush grade. He had 48 pressures as a pass rusher and recorded 26 run stops. In eight of the 11 games Highsmith played during the regular season, he generated at least four pressures while rushing the passer.
The veteran OLB just needs to stay healthy, because when he is on the field and available, he’s one of the best in the league.
Then, there’s Herbig.
The third-year pro came in at No. 32 in the rankings, and he continues to generate quite a bit of buzz after he flashed time and time again in a limited role during the 2024 season.
“No player embodied the ‘pass-rushing specialist’ role better than Herbig in 2024. The second-year pro was elite in limited snaps, earning a 91.5 PFF pass-rush grade — fourth among 109 qualifying edge defenders,” Smith writes. “However, he struggled against the run, grading out at 48.2 (101st), and will need to improve in that area to move up this list next season.”
Last season in a reserve role, Herbig played 416 snaps defensively and finished with a grade of 81.9 overall from PFF, including a stellar 91.8 pass-rush grade on just 219 pass-rush snaps.
Herbig generated 26 pressures, 5.5 sacks, and four forced fumbles on the season.
After a strong rookie season that saw him create some havoc off the edge, Herbig turned in a very good second season, showing off his speed and athleticism off the edge, which allows him to bend the edge among the best pass rushers in the game.
Run defense remains an issue for Herbig, but with his impact as a pass rusher, the Steelers have to be thrilled with having that type to talent as a rotational piece behind two outstanding starters.
