Steelers All 90: Nick Herbig Position? ‘Dawg’

The Pittsburgh Steelers are known for rostering family bloodlines and this offseason the team added another one after drafting Nick Herbig and signing Nate Herbig. At Wisconsin, Nick played outside linebacker but was being profiled as an off-ball inside linebacker in the predraft process due to his smaller frame.

According to the Steelers’ outside linebacker coach Denzel Martin, Herbig is going to start his professional career as an outside linebacker despite the predraft concerns.

“Right now, he’s going to start at outside linebacker,” Martin said.

After Martin told reporters that he will start outside, Steelers’ general manager clarified that the team views Herbig as somebody that can play both on the outside and the inside. He also stated that playing on the special teams unit, especially early in his career, will be a big expectation for the Wisconsin product.

“We think he can play inside and outside for us. So we love that flexibility,” Khan said. “Love his flexibility and think he’s going to contribute on special teams, too.”

While Martin and Khan placed him inside of position groups, Herbig labeled himself as a “dawg” and stated that he is ready to play any role to help the team.

“I’m just thinking they want me to come in and be a dawg and that’s what I do,” Herbig said. “You know, so whatever they want me to do. I’m gonna do it.”

Even with his smaller frame, Herbig dominated one of the tougher Division 1 conferences in the nation as an outside linebacker. In his time in Madison, Herbig led the Big Ten in tackles for loss as a junior and logged 20 sacks over his final two seasons as a Badger.

In addition, whether he was joking or just trying to entice the team to draft his brother, Nate stated prior to the draft that Nick is the one person that he cannot block.

“Nick Herbig, STUD. … if there’s a guy I can’t block, it’s Nick Herbig,” Nate said in March.

Since the team added veteran Markus Golden to be the swing guy behind T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith, Herbig will be in direct competition with Quincy Roche and a pair of rookies for a roster spot and playing time. The positive for Herbig is the similarities between Wisconsin’s 3-4 defense and the Steelers’ base defense. He will be able to line up exactly how he did in college which should give him some familiarity with regard to learning the playbook quickly.

Regardless of how his brother views him and the similarities between the playbooks, Herbig will have to show out in camp to earn playing time in the regular season.

51 • Nick Herbig, Outside Linebacker, Wisconsin
6-foot-2, 240 pounds, 21 years old, 1st Season

Acquired: The Steelers drafted Herbig out of the University of Wisconsin with the 132nd overall pick in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL Draft.

Last season: In his junior season, Herbig started all 11 of the Badgers games. He tallied 47 combined tackles, 15.5 tackles for loss, 11 sacks, two passes defended, and two forced fumbles in 2022. His most dominant performance came against Maryland when he recorded three tackles for loss and two sacks.

He led the nation in sacks per game (1.0) and his 15.5 tackles for loss led the Big Ten. Following the season, Herbig was a consensus All-Big Ten first-team selection and was named an All-American by multiple different outlets.

Wisconsin Badgers linebacker Nick Herbig (19) sacks the quarterback during an NCAA Big Ten Conference college football game against the Michigan State Spartans Saturday, Oct. 15, 2022, in East Lansing, Mich. The Spartans won 34-28 in double overtime. (Photo by David Stluka/Wisconsin Athletic Communications)

College: Coming out of high school in Hawaii as a four-star recruit, Herbig decided to commit to the University of Wisconsin to continue his football career. As a true freshman, Herbig started all seven games that he appeared in as an outside linebacker. In his seven appearances, he totaled 26 combined tackles, six tackles for loss, one sack, and one pass defended. In his first start at Wisconsin, he logged a sack and a pass defended against Illinois.

Wisconsin Badgers linebacker Nick Herbig (19) celebrates a quarterback sack during an NCAA Big Ten Conference college football game against the Michigan State Spartans Saturday, Oct. 15, 2022, in East Lansing, Mich. The Spartans won 34-28 in double overtime. (Photo by David Stluka/Wisconsin Athletic Communications)

As a sophomore in 2021, Herbig started all 13 games for the Badgers and took a big step forward in terms of production. Herbig finished the season with 64 combined tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss, nine sacks, four passes defended, and two forced fumbles. His nine sacks led the Badgers and ranked fourth in the Big Ten. He also finished seventh in the Big Ten with 14.5 tackles for loss. Pro Football Focus gave Herbig the highest rating (91.4) of any Wisconsin edge rusher in history, ranking higher than his current teammate T.J. Watt.

Over his three years in Madison, Herbig logged 31 career starts and racked up 36 tackles for loss, 21 sacks, 7 passes defended, and four forced fumbles.

Salary cap and future: Herbig is entering the first year of his standard four-year rookie contract with the Steelers. In 2023, Herbig will cost $918,231 against the team’s cap space. His cap hit includes a base salary of $750,000 and a bonus of $168,231.

Herbig is signed with the Steelers through the end of the 2026 season when he will become an unrestricted free agent.

The rest of the 90: