Nate Herbig Credits Future HOFer for Teaching Him to Play Center
When the Pittsburgh Steelers signed Nate Herbig last offseason, it was because his versatility to play guard and center. After starting two games in-place of an injured James Daniels last season, Herbig’s role is being shifted for him to play center in 2024.
While the Steelers drafted Zach Frazier in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft, Herbig received first-team snaps during the team’s spring and summer workouts. Frazier is likely to usurp the starting role at some point in the season but as of now, Herbig is the man-in-the-middle for the Steelers offensive line.
Having started 30 games in his professional career, Herbig is ready to take on the bulk of the work but having not started a game at center in the NFL, he will have to prove he is the better option than Frazier. For Herbig, he is ready for the challenge and credits a former teammate and future Hall of Famer for showing him the ropes at center.
“There’s a lot of bolts to it. It’s a lot of, I’d say, some things are harder at center that is easier guard, and some things are harder guard that are easier to center,” Herbig told Alan Saunders of Steelers Now. “You know, so it’s just, you know, I would say I, fortunately, learned from Jason Kelce for three years, so I learned a lot from him, but I’m not really reading too much into it. I’m just working hard now, wherever they put me in at, I am going to do my best.”
While he is ready for the challenge, Herbig is focused on the here-and-now and not on the things that he cannot control. Even if or when Frazier surpasses him, Herbig can still contribute as a depth guard and on special teams.
“I mean, honestly, like, man, just taking this year day by day, man, I’m not thinking ahead,” Herbig said. “I’m not really thinking about the past. I’m trying to be where my feet are, and every day, you know, I’m just trying to get a little bit better. You know, I’m really working hard to get better on my game and contribute to this team in any way that I can. You know, so that’s all I’m working on. I’m just trying to get better every day. I’m not really listening, like no outside noises or anything. Keeping the main thing the main thing. Just working hard everyday.”
Outside of having his brother, Nick Herbig, on the team, Herbig is loving the Steelers culture and talked about how close everybody on the roster is with each other.
“I love the camaraderie that we have as a whole team and an offense,” Herbig said. “Guys are hanging out a lot outside of the building. We are a very tight-knit group. We have been working hard together and putting in that time.”
With Herbig as the first-team center as of right now, there is work to be done on his end to maintain his starting spot come Week 1 in Atlanta. With a decent training camp and preseason, Herbig should buy himself at least a couple of starts at center to begin the year.
71 • Nate Herbig, Guard, Stanford
6-foot-4, 334 pounds, 25 years old, 6th Season
Acquired: The Steelers signed Nate Herbig as an unrestricted free agent on March 16, 2023, after his contract with the New York Jets expired.
Last Year: Nate Herbig signed with the Steelers as a depth offensive lineman. His versatility to play either center or guard intrigued the Steelers enough to sign him. In 2023, Herbig played in all 17 games but only logged two starts. In his 156 offensive snaps for the Steelers, Herbig allowed one sack.
Career: After a successful three-year career at the University of Stanford, Nate Herbig was projected to be a midround draft selection. Herbig performed poorly at the NFL Scouting Combine as he ran the slowest 40-yard dash (5.41) of any prospect and ultimately went undrafted. The Philadelphia Eagles signed Herbig as an undrafted free agent and he played in two games as a rookie. He finished the year with just three offensive snaps.
In 2020, Herbig stepped into a bigger role for the Eagles as he played in 15 games while making 12 starts. He played a career-high 894 offensive snaps as he allowed only two sacks and four penalties. He made his first career start in Week 1 against the Washington Football Team, now the Commanders.
In his third season, Herbig was knocked off as a starter but still appeared in 16 games for the Eagles. He made five starts as he played 481 snaps and allowed one sack. The Eagles waived Herbig following the season. The Jets claimed him off of waivers by after his release.
Herbig played in and started 11 games for the Jets last season. His first start came during the team’s Week 4 victory against the Steelers at Acrisure Stadium. In 2022, Herbig played his second-most snaps in the NFL and played well. He allowed just one sack while committing four penalties.
In total, Herbig has spent five seasons playing for three different teams. He has played 61 career games with 30 starts. Herbig has started 25 at right guard and five at five at left guard.
| Year | Team | GP | GS | Snaps | Sacks | Penalties | PFF Rating |
| 2019 | PHI | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 69.4 |
| 2020 | PHI | 15 | 12 | 893 | 2 | 4 | 71.2 |
| 2021 | PHI | 16 | 5 | 481 | 1 | 3 | 68.1 |
| 2022 | NYJ | 11 | 11 | 706 | 1 | 4 | 58.0 |
| 2023 | PIT | 17 | 2 | 156 | 1 | 0 | 67.6 |
College: Coming out of high school in Hawaii, Nate Herbig was rated as the nation’s 12th-best center prospect by Scout.com. He decided to commit to the University of Stanford and went on to play 13 games at left guard as a true freshman. He recorded six starts in 2016 and the team went 6-0 during those games. Herbig became the first freshman to start on Stanford’s offensive line since 2012 and only the second since 2000. He earned freshman All-American honors by ESPN following the season.
In 2017, Herbig switched to right guard and started all 13 games for the Cardinal at the position. Herbig earned first-team All-Pac-12 honors as a sophomore.
As a junior, Herbig started all seven games that he played in with six starts at right guard and one at right tackle. Herbig missed six games due to injury in 2018. Following the season, Herbig earned second-team All-Pac-12 honors. Following his junior season, Herbig declared for the NFL Draft.
| Year | GP | GS | Snaps | Sacks | Penalties | PFF Rating |
| 2016 | 13 | 6 | 385 | 1 | 4 | 74.5 |
| 2017 | 13 | 13 | 640 | 2 | 4 | 78.7 |
| 2018 | 7 | 7 | 413 | 1 | 2 | 68.5 |
Salary cap and future: Nate Herbig is entering the second year of his two-year, $8 million contract that he signed with the team last offseason. He will cost $5.46 million against the Steelers’ 2024 cap space. Herbig’s 2024 cap includes a $4 million base salary and a $1.46 million signing bonus.
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