Film Room: Steelers OLB Nick Herbig Obliterates Bills OL

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Steelers OLB Nick Herbig

Do the Steelers have a steal in the fourth round out of Wisconsin? For the second straight preseason game, rookie outside linebacker Nick Herbig is proving to the Steelers that he could be an early contributor to the team. There were a number of pressures and a fantastic strip sack from Herbig in the game against the Bills. And there is an art to how he wins as a pass rusher. It all starts with his size and how he uses his unique advantages on the football field.

First, let’s break down his strip sack. This is the best play of Herbig’s entire preseason so far. Part of what makes Nick Herbig so dangerous as a pass rusher is his ability to explode off the ball and get up the arc to create tough angles for tackles, especially if they’re just using a traditional 45-set. Herbig’s explosiveness causes that right tackle to speed up his set, and by the time he is at his spot, he has to play this to run Herbig around the arc. But the outside shoulder is now turned, and his hands are going to be touching that inside shoulder of Herbig if he can reduce his surface area and bend.

But that is where this comes in and makes it all special. The right tackle, to his credit, does a great job recovering against Herbig’s explosiveness to get to that spot. He is a spot where he could get a solid punch on Herbig’s chest. But Herbig’s uses a filthy cross chop-rip combination to bat down the tackle’s hands and the dip after that makes that right tackle go to the ground. What makes this rep so special is Herbig’s bend. He has to tighten this arc and direct it back to the quarterback. His ankle and hip flexibility is unreal and the fact that he somehow stays up while tightening that arc showcases the special bend that Herbig honestly has as a baseline trait. His left ankle is so far out in front of his