Watch: Nick Herbig Makes Tackle Look Silly for Sack

Nick Herbig is making waves again. Against Atlanta, Herbig notched his first sack of the game on a gorgeous inside counter against Jalen Mayfield. Mayfield overset, and Herbig, who took the outside path, suddenly cut back inside and attacked Mayfield’s inside half to blow right by him for the sack.

Another Nick Herbig Sack. Kid is unreal. #Steelers #NFL pic.twitter.com/Fa9zRoMeAJ

— Blitzburgh (@Blitz_Burgh) August 25, 2023

This is all created by Mayfield opening up that shoulder and hip. Nick Herbig swipes the hands down and then executes a gorgeous inside swim to get to Logan Woodside for the sack. Few fourth-round rookies have as deep a bag as Herbig does, but there is little he has shown he can not do as a pass rusher. For someone that many thought would be an inside linebacker, there is too much pass-rush upside there for the guy not to play.

His explosiveness and speed are rare. Last week, Herbig even flashed some power in there. We know Herbig can win with speed, and he was experimenting with a long arm and bull rush at times in training camp. If he adds even a fraction power to his game, his speed rush becomes all the more deadly. There is natural power to harness there, and if tackles are going to bail out to the outside and almost blatantly overset, Herbig can come back inside and push them off their spot on their heels with power. That element of the game can take Herbig’s pass-rush bag and counters to the next level.