Nick Herbig has proved to be a little sparkplug since the Steelers drafted him in 2023, but T.J. Watt thinks that’s underselling him. Pittsburgh drafting a bigger body in Jack Sawyer has only reinforced the narrative that Herbig struggles against the run. According to Herbig himself, HC Mike Tomlin feeds into that presumptive evaluation in order to fuel him. And perhaps it’s working.
“He’s done a great job,” Watt said via Teresa Varley for the Steelers’ website about Nick Herbig playing the run. “I think that’s the biggest key to being an outside linebacker here, is you want to be a well-rounded player. And not only for yourself, but for the whole team. And you want to be reliable. I think he’s working his way towards that.
“As a smaller body guy, [Herbig] has put on some weight. He trained with me in the offseason. He’s stronger than ever. And it’s been fun to see him attack the run like he has.”
During the pre-draft process, Herbig measured at 6-2, 240 pounds. That’s not incredibly small for a 3-4 outside linebacker, but it’s certainly smaller than the Steelers’ prototype. That, combined with his shorter-than-average arm length, led some to wonder if he would move to off-ball linebacker.
“I take great pride in the run game,” Herbig said earlier this offseason. “You can’t get a third down if you don’t stop them on first and second down. So I take great pride in that. Coach Tomlin loves to mess with me, tell me I don’t like to play the run. But I like to show him otherwise.”
Entering his third NFL season, Herbig remains entrenched behind T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith. Now competing with Jack Sawyer for rotational snaps, it’s unclear how the Steelers will approach the group. Will Herbig and Sawyer both sub in at the same time, or in different scenarios?
Since the draft, many have categorized Herbig as the pass-rush specialist and Sawyer as the run defender. Both of them can play the run and the pass, however, and neither is different in one or the other.
Indeed, Nick Herbig spent time training with Watt in the offseason, hungry to grow — figuratively and literally. If he has put on more muscle this year, I wouldn’t call it glaringly obvious, but he has certainly put in the work.
The Steelers held Herbig out of the first preseason game, but he should play against the Buccaneers. With Highsmith nursing a groin injury and Watt just being too important to play, they can use the in-game depth, anyway. Last week, Sawyer and DeMarvin Leal started the game at outside linebacker. And you know Herbig will want to show Tomlin he can play the run. He’s exactly the kind of person who would do something just to show you you’re wrong to say he can’t.
