Nick Herbig is one of the most notable young pass rushers in the NFL right now. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2023, and despite being on one of the deepest teams in the NFL as far as edge rusher talent goes, he’s still managed to make a name for himself. Herbig has stuffed the stat sheet so far in 2025, recording 6.5 sacks, an interception, two forced fumbles, twelve tackles for loss, and sixteen quarterback hits, despite only starting four games.
Herbig’s stats and the eye test portray him as one of the premier pass rushers in the game, but he doesn’t garner the same level of respect as some of his younger peers like Jared Verse or Will Anderson Jr. Is it that he’s simply being overlooked, or are the raw numbers not as impressive as they may seem on the surface?
The Case for Nick Herbig
Herbig’s raw counting stats are good, but not eye-popping compared to some of the NFL’s absolute best pass rushers. But what he lacks in volume, he more than makes up for in efficiency. Over the past two seasons in particular, Nick Herbig has been one of the NFL’s most efficient pass rushers on a snap-to-snap basis. Through the first eight weeks of 2025, Herbig led the NFL in pass rush win rate, and it wasn’t particularly close. He wins more often and gets pressure faster on a per-snap basis than anybody in the league. There are some factors to take into consideration, though, as he’s not double-teamed or chipped anywhere near as often as the top guys in the league like Myles Garrett or Micah Parsons.
This is where his film comes in, and Herbig absolutely pops on tape. His patented cross-chop move has been nearly impossible to contain this season, and combined with his blazing speed off the corner, you have someone who’s truly been a nightmare to deal with for left tackles. The Steelers as a team are a better pass-rushing unit when he’s on the field versus when he isn’t on the field. In games where Herbig has primarily sat in against the Jets, Bengals, Packers, and Bills, the Steelers have given up an average of 31.5 points per game.
The Case Against Herbig
As good as Herbig has been in his limited snaps, there is also a reason that he isn’t an every-down player for the Steelers defense yet, and it goes beyond playing with T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith. Herbig doesn’t have the same raw power that those guys have, especially in the run game, which has reared its ugly head in certain matchups in the past couple of years. The biggest example of that was in the Wild Card game against Baltimore last season, where Herbig played only 17 snaps because of his weaknesses in stopping the run.
Another point against Nick Herbig is the talent he has around him. He’s playing next to two future Hall of Famers in Cameron Heyward and T.J. Watt on almost every snap, meaning he’s not facing chips or double teams all that often. Perhaps that’ll change soon once Herbig enters his prime. As of now, while Herbig is certainly taking advantage of his one-on-one opportunities, if he were truly as great as his advanced numbers suggest, he wouldn’t be getting that many one-on-ones in the first place. He doesn’t have the same level of defensive responsibility as guys like Jared Verse or Will Anderson Jr., and especially not the same level as guys like Myles Garrett, Micah Parsons, or even his teammate, T.J. Watt.
The Verdict
Nick Herbig is certainly a good football player and a great pass rusher already, but he’s still a year or two away from entering into elite discussions. If he were starting on another team, while yes, he’d be getting a lot more opportunities, his efficiency would undoubtedly go down. If Herbig can get stronger and add some more versatility to his pass-rushing repertoire, like some speed to power moves, he could be special very soon. As is, he’s the best replacement edge rusher in the league by a landslide, and I envision many Pro Bowls in his future.
Main Image: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
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