No Need to Panic About Steelers' Nick Herbig

The Pittsburgh Steelers have one of the better pass rushing units in the NFL, yet they've decided to deploy one of the top members of that group in a peculiar manner.

Upon signing Nick Herbig to a four-year, $100 million extension in early June, the expectations was that the Steelers were at least going to feature him more prominently moving forward.

That simply hasn't been the case, however. Herbig has been on the field for 52 percent of the team's defensive snaps through the first four weeks of the season, which is down from 60 percent in 2025, and he's only had 40 reps as a pass rusher in the process (per Pro Football Reference).

It's not as though Pittsburgh hasn't gotten home and pressured opposing quarterbacks and thus needs Herbig to provide a spark, but his lack of usage in that role is still dubious and needs to change.

Aug 13, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Nick Herbig (51) during player introductions against the Green Bay Packers at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Herbig is Still Incredibly Effective

An interesting development for Herbig and how he's been ingratiated into defensive coordinator Patrick Graham's system is the uptick in his coverage reps.

Over 17 contests last season, Herbig finished with 54 total snaps in coverage (per PFF). Across four games so far in 2026, he has logged 20 reps as a coverage defender, meaning he's on pace to pass the mark he set in 2025 by a significant margin.

That's one of the reasons why he hasn't been utilized as a pass rusher as often as he has in the past, but the Steelers must pivot and ensure he has more opportunities to get into the backfield moving forward.

According to SumerSports, Herbig has the best pressure rate amongst Pittsburgh's EDGE rushers at 20.5 percent, meaning he's considerably outperforming Alex Highsmith (13.6 percent), T.J. Watt (12.1 percent) and Jack Sawyer (12.0 percent) on a rate basis.

The production hasn't been there for Herbig, as he has yet to record a sack this season, but they're going to come if he sustains his current level of play.

Financial Commitment Will Pay Off

The Steelers' decision to extend Herbig has come back into focus after they couldn't agree on a new deal with Joey Porter Jr. and thus traded him to the Dallas Cowboys ahead of their Week 4 loss to the Cleveland Browns on Thursday Night Football.

It's easy to look at Herbig's stats and think that Pittsburgh may have made a mistake by potentially prioritizing him over Porter Jr., who played at a borderline elite level in 2025 and deserved a lucrative new deal from the franchise this past offseason.

While it's entirely possible the Steelers will look back at how they handled Porter Jr.'s situation and end up regretting it, paying Herbig was inarguably the correct course of action.

He's remained impactful to begin this season, and he will be a cornerstone of Pittsburgh's defense for years to come.

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