Steelers edge rusher Nick Herbig was one of the stars of the 2023 preseason and he’s followed up with another strong performance this go-around. As expected, he wasn’t given a significant workload last season but with the retirement of Markus Golden, Pittsburgh will be depending on him quite a bit more this fall. Albeit in a small sample size, he’s already shown some positive improvements to his game, most notably some flashes of improved play strength to go along with his eye-popping speed and athleticism up the field. Coming out of college, he was known as a pure speed rusher but the tape shows a young player that’s starting to figure some things out from a mental perspective.
SN analyst Derrick Bell breaks down Herbig’s performance so far through the first two preseason games, detailing how he wins as a rusher, where he’s still a work in progress and different ways that the Steelers can get him on the field even with guys like T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith safely above him on the depth chart. This season will go a long way in telling us whether or not he’s a starter caliber player in the future or if he’s simply a designated pass rusher, which would still be an encouraging outcome for a fourth-round draft pick. Be sure to subscribe to the channel for more Steelers content.
Related: Mid-Preseason Steelers 2024 53-Man Roster Projection
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