On a per-snap basis, Nick Herbig was one of the league’s most efficient pass rushers last season as a rookie. In 74 pass-rushing snaps, he had three sacks, eight total pressures, and two forced fumbles, including a game-changing strip sack in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ must-win game against the Seattle Seahawks.
With Markus Golden off the roster, Herbig has been thrust into a bigger role as the primary OLB depth behind TJ Watt and Alex Highsmith. By all accounts, he has taken a step forward this offseason. His build even looks like an NFL pass rusher, various Steelers insiders noted during spring practice.
That momentum carried over into the preseason. Pro Football FocusHerbig has an “elite” grade of 93.1 overall in three preseason games, including a pass rush grade of 92.6 and a run defense grade of 68.7. He has played 32 snaps, has 3.5 sacks, six total pressures, and a forced fumble. Herbig’s last two preseason games have both been multi-sack performances.
In three preseason games, Herbig has posted overall grades of 68.7, 76.8, and 97.0, respectively. If no one beats his grade in today’s preseason game, he will finish the preseason as the league’s highest-graded edge rusher. Last year, he was third-highest graded behind Denico Autry and Charles Snowden.
With his outstanding performance, PFF named him the following: Player of the game.
“Steelers edge rusher Nick Herbig played just nine snaps against the Lions, but he had another outstanding outing to cap an impressive preseason,” PFF’s Mark Chichester wrote. “Herbig rushed the passer six times, recording two sacks and a rush, and had a pass-rush win rate of .50.”
This is Herbig’s second sack in yesterday’s game.
Herbig spent a lot of time working with players like TJ Watt, Keeanu Benton and Alex Highsmith in the offseason, and the effort seems to have paid off. He credited one sack against the Lions to Watt teaching him in the offseason.
This is his second straight preseason where he earned an “elite” grade from PFF. Last year, he finished with a slightly lower grade of 92.5. Those things don’t always carry over to the regular season, but Herbig posted a very respectable 80.7 overall grade in his rookie season.
Watt and Highsmith are the two highest-paid edge rushers in the league and will likely start, but Herbig has certainly gotten more snaps off the bench. He impacts the game so much that it’s hard to keep him on the sideline. That’s a good thing for a team that has historically struggled when Watt is out with an injury. They can all stay fresh all season long with a solid rotation.
