The Pittsburgh Steelers have an elite edge-rusher duo that should be the envy of the league. Teams like the Cleveland Browns can pretend they have the top pair of pass rushers in Myles Garrett and Za’Darius Smith, but that distinction truly lies with T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith.
And now they’ve got some depth behind them. While veteran Markus Golden has proven to be a nice addition, the really intriguing new ingredient is Nick Herbig, the fourth-round rookie out of Wisconsin who had two sacks in his preseason debut.
It was just an extension of the sort of performance he has had throughout camp, which makes him both a joy and a challenge for offensive linemen like his fellow rookies to go up against in practice. Both Spencer Anderson and Broderick Jones talked him up to reporters yesterday.
“He’s nice. He’s gonna be special”, Anderson said, via Amanda Godsey. “I can already see him taking information from T.J. It’s kind of no difference blocking the two. Obviously, T.J.’s a proven guy, but I feel like Nick’s gonna be that in the coming years if he can stay healthy and do what he does”.
That’s obviously a lofty comparison—surely Anderson gets little to no work directly against Watt in one-on-one scenarios—but after all, Herbig is taking all of Watt’s pass-rush moves, so perhaps it makes sense. All he needs is time to prove himself. The two seemed to split a trio of reps yesterday, with a sort of draw in the rubber match.
The rookie edge rusher also frequently goes to bat against Jones, the first-round pick out of Georgia. “I love going against Nick just because that’s my roommate”, he said, via Amanda Godsey. “We sit down at the end of the night and watch our little clips going against each other. We’re always talking smack to each other”.
“It’s a good rivalry between us. Love him to death. I love the way he plays. He plays with passion, so every time I go up against him I know it’s gonna be a battle”, he added. When asked who calls for the matchups in practice, he said, “It’s a little bit of both. It goes hand in hand, both ways”.
While there’s still a lot of time left on the offseason clock, it’s looking increasingly plausible that Herbig will see some significant snaps this year. With the quality of depth that the Steelers now have behind the starters, they will likely have a more active rotational plan in place to save some wear on Watt and Highsmith.
Of course, one solid preseason debut doesn’t make a reputation. He’ll have to keep passing every test in front of him well into the beginning of the regular season. Once he starts proving himself against NFL starters in meaningful situations, then we’ll know that he’s arrived. Until then, he’s got his cheerleaders in the offensive line room—including big brother Nate, of course.
