When the Pittsburgh Steelers set their board in the 2023 NFL Draft, Nick Herbig was one of Mike Tomlin’s two favorite EDGE prospects in the class. He has proven Tomlin right almost every time he’s seen the field since then, but he’s still a relatively unknown player on the national scene, stuck behind T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith. That won’t change in 2025, but J.J. Watt gave a ringing endorsement of the third-year player during today’s episode of The Pat McAfee Show.
“Herbig is great. Underrated,” Watt said. “Very Underrated.”
T.J. Watt, who just agreed to a record-breaking contract extension with the Steelers last week, recently posted a photo of himself and Herbig at a training facility in Wisconsin. The two have made a habit of working out together in each of the last few offseasons. Watt has joked in the past that Herbig is “stuck to his hip” and difficult to get away from sometimes.
That mentor relationship has proven valuable for Herbig as he makes the most of every opportunity he gets on the field. Through two seasons, Herbig has 8.5 sacks and six forced fumbles in limited action. He’s only appeared in 30 games with five starts and 606 total defensive snaps. Watt alone played 938 defensive snaps in 2024, so Herbig’s production has remained on pace for a statistically impressive full season if he ever gets the chance to start.
Assuming a full season of 938 snaps at the current pace he’s on, Herbig would have 13 sacks and nine forced fumbles. That would be just shy of an NFL single-season FF record held by Charles Tillman, Osi Umenyiora and Robert Mathis.
With Watt under contract long term, Herbig’s path to extended playing time is unclear. Highsmith and Watt have both dealt with injuries in recent seasons, so he is always just one snap away. Though Jack Sawyer now enters the fold as a fourth-round rookie that the Steelers are high on. If Herbig plays well this year, he could be an extension candidate next offseason before he enters the final year of his rookie deal.
