Ahead of the Week 5 bye, the Pittsburgh Steelers' defense found its turnover mojo and began to look more like the defense fans expected. The next step is just getting key players back off the injury list.
One of those key pieces is edge linebacker Alex Highsmith, but in his absence, Nick Herbig has taken full advantage of his opportunities. In just three games played and two starts, Herbig is second on the team in sacks and has accounted for two turnovers.
There’s a chance Highsmith returns this week for the Steelers’ first meeting with the Cleveland Browns. If he does, it seems like he’ll have to give up a few extra snaps to Herbig.
Nick Herbig’s impact has the Pittsburgh Steelers reevaluating how to deploy their edge talent
On Thursday, Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said that Herbig’s performance has earned him more playing time going forward in the 2025 campaign.
"As much as we can get him on the field," Austin said. "As we get going in this season, he’s going to play a lot of snaps for us and play a lot of football. It’s my job to find ways to get him on there and keep him on the field with what he has done. He is a splash player. He is always around the ball. He makes it miserable for offensive tackles, and he’s playing really well. Guys who play well get rewarded with more playing time."
Last season, Herbig played half of the team’s defensive snaps in 13 games, so it’s not as though he hasn’t gotten plenty of playing time when he’s been healthy to begin with. This season, he’s played 83% of the snaps, though he and Highsmith haven’t been available simultaneously for the large majority of the season.
Still, Austin and the defense are inclined to use Herbig more often. His splash play ability is only exceeded at his position by T.J. Watt. In his career across 33 games, Herbig has accounted for seven forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, an interception, and 11 sacks. In the past 31 games for Highsmith over the past three seasons, he’s accounted for three forced fumbles, two interceptions, and 14 sacks.
The buzz around Herbig’s performance and potential overshadows Highsmith considerably, though the veteran of the two isn’t without success.
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Nonetheless, Herbig is clearly deserving of more playing time. Whether that means he’s eating into Highsmith’s reps when he returns or finding ways to use all three at once, the defense needs to utilize its most dynamic players as much as possible, and Herbig has put himself into that category.
We’ll have to wait for Highsmith’s return to see how Austin is going to go about giving Herbig these extra snaps. Still, if it does mean eating into the veteran’s playing time, then Pittsburgh may have a decision to make about the future of the position sooner rather than later. In the meantime, the Steelers can enjoy an excellent trio of pass rushers once they are all healthy.