Chances are Nick Herbig will be watching TJ Watt and Alex Highsmith from the sidelines during the Pittsburgh Steelers’ first defensive snap of the season. That’s not too much of a problem – he could still see 300-400 snaps this year without any tricks. or Gimmicks. But what if the Steelers actually use some tricks? They’ve been cautiously experimenting with three OLBs during training camp and they have the personnel to pull it off. So, will they do it?
“I’m not sure. That’s really outside of my jurisdiction,” Herbig told Kevin Adams and Jersey Jerry on the Steel Here podcast. “That really depends on TA (Teryl Austin) Mike (Tomlin) and the coaches what they want to do with me. Obviously I’d love to, but we’ll see what happens. Right now I’m just working on my punt protection and trying to figure out this new kickoff.”
Nick Herbig, a 2023 fourth-round pick, was the Steelers’ fourth outside linebacker as a rookie last season. Despite playing only 191 defensive snaps, he recorded three sacks, two forced fumbles and five tackles for loss.
At the time of this writing, the Steelers don’t even have a fourth outside linebacker behind Watt, Highsmith, and Herbig. That’s partly due to a lack of depth, but also because they like Herbig so much. Granted, they have Jeremiah Moon on the reserve/injured list with a return designation, so he could be that fourth man. But he probably won’t play much on defense if everyone else is healthy.
Aside from the fact that the Steelers have already experimented with a three-OLB package, there’s reason to believe they could be serious about letting Herbig play at times while Watt and Highsmith are also on the field.
Earlier this week, head coach Mike Tomlin raved about Nick Herbig’s development, even going so far as to say that the Steelers “will find a role for a guy like that,” something you don’t always hear about backup players, especially backups to two highly paid starters like Watt and Highsmith.
Using three pass rushers together wouldn’t exactly be a new innovation, but the Steelers haven’t done it often. The last time they used it frequently was in 2021 with Melvin Ingram. They haven’t always had the strongest depth on the edge, however, and Herbig demands a role through his play.
While preseason performance must be viewed in context, Herbig once again looked sharp and effective, leading the league with three and a half sacks during the testing period and doing everything he could to force his way onto the field.
It will be interesting to see how and in what contexts the Steelers use Herbig this season. As a rookie, he only played 20 or more snaps in a game once, and that was due to an injury during the game. It wasn’t one of his strongest performances, either, when he faced the New England Patriots. How does he fare against a bigger team? It won’t hurt to have both Watt and Highsmith on the field with him.
