One NFL Draft Dream Trade That Could Change the Buccaneers Overnight

It is no secret that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are looking for an edge rusher.

The Bucs brought in Al-Quadin Muhammad from the Detroit Lions in free agency, but he shouldn't serve as Tampa Bay's No. 1 edge rusher. Yaya Diaby has been a solid producer since joining the Buccaneers, but he could use another talented edge rusher to take some heat off of him and open up his opportunities. The Bucs could get this edge rusher by picking them in the NFL Draft, and that's exactly what they're expected to do — but there's another option.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are one of many teams rumored to want to move around the board once the NFL Draft starts on Thursday, and they don't just have picks to trade away. Recent reports have suggested that they'd be interested in moving on from edge rushers Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig on draft night in order to trade up.

There is growing buzz around the league that the #Steelers could deal one of Alex Highsmith or Nick Herbig during the draft.

According to one insider, Highsmith is viewed as being the more likely candidate.

Read more @Steelersdepot https://t.co/HTbpuxWqKz
— Ross McCorkle (@Ross_McCorkle) April 19, 2026

The Bucs could spring for either Highsmith or Herbig, but Herbig might be excatly what they need.

Buccaneers should bring in Nick Herbig...

Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Nick Herbig (51) follows the play against the Cincinnati Bengals | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Herbig has been productive for the Steelers, and particularly last year. He netted 7.5 sacks and 13 TFL for Pittsburgh, and he's also had nine forced fumbles in three seasons. Herbig is a rotational rusher, so putting him in a starting role could really allow him to shine — not dissimilar to how the Bucs approached Shaq Barrett in 2019.

Herbig likely wouldn't cost too much to trade for, either. Any team trading up with the Bucs would normally look to give up their second-round pick, but the Steelers could simply offer their first-round pick and Herbig for Tampa Bay's first-rounder at most, with some other pick swaps in later rounds thrown in for good measure.

So why not trade for Herbig and get a guaranteed producer at EDGE instead of gambling on a draft pick? Well...

...But there's one big problem

Tampa Bay Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht speaks at the NFL Scouting Combine | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

You'd have to give up capital to get Hebrig, which wouldn't be too much of a problem. But then you'd also have to pay him, and that's where a few issues could crop up.

Spotrac currently has Herbig's value set at $16.6 million APY, but that is likely underselling it. NFL contract expert Josh Queipo has Herbig's value set at $23.5 million APY, which would be quite the big jump. As it stands, Herbig is playing in the last year of his deal and becomes a free agent in 2027, so if he were to be traded, it would be in his best interest to get an extension done as soon as he can.

Herbig: models have an APY range of $15.3 - $23.6M

Based on this I think he comes in at $23.5M/yr (4/$94M) w $67M gtd pic.twitter.com/taGNYZnUle
— Josh Queipo (@JoshQueipo_NFL) April 19, 2026

Right now, the Bucs have $12,815,460 in cap space, according to Over the Cap. They certainly could make a move to get Herbig, but then they'd have to sign their draft picks, too, so they'd have to stretch a few things to make it happen and they may not be willing to do so much to get a player like him on board. A draft pick is a gamble, but that player would cost much, much less.

It's always possible that the Bucs make a move, but we won't find out for sure until the first round of the draft kicks off on Thursday night.

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