Nick Herbig is already looking like the biggest steal of the 2023 NFL Draft

When the Steelers landed an impressive haul in the 2023 NFL Draft, I knew there would be some players I would get really excited about heading into their first NFL season. What I didn't expect is that I would be more excited about Nick Herbig than any draft pick this year.

After training away their original fourth-round pick to move up for Georgia OT Broderick Jones in the first round, Pittsburgh recouped a fourth-rounder by trading back in the third. With the 132nd overall pick, they snatched up Herbig. So far, it's looking like 31 other teams made a mistake by letting him fall this far.

Through two preseason games, Herbig has been a force to be reckoned with. The 21-year-old pass rusher had back-to-back outstanding performances against the Buccaneers and Bills to open the preseason. On 40 total snaps so far (25 pass rush snaps), Herig has recorded 2.5 sacks, 4 pressures, and 1 forced fumble while helping out against the run.

Herbig's dominant performances have led him to an overall grade of 90.6 through the first two preseason games, according to Pro Football Focus.

Early on, we saw the same type of things that we saw from Nick Herbig at Wisconsin. Despite his 6'2'' and 240-pound frame, Herbig shows that he has the ability to get to the quarterback in an instant. His highlight plays have arguably been the talk of the 2023 preseason so far.

Though this is merely exhibition action, Herbig has bullied NFL tackles like Dion Dawkins, Spencer Brown, and Luke Goedeke so far. Something tells me that plenty more are on the way.

While it might be unreasonable to expect Herbig to continue at this dominant pace, he has given us every reason to believe that he can hold up as a full-time edge defender in the NFL. This means we can put the debate to rest as to whether or not he needs to transition to an off-ball linebacker.

Herbig simply has an innate ability to get after the quarterback, and he can do so in a variety of ways. Thanks to an explosive get-off, fantastic bend, and remarkable hand usage, Herbig is far from a one-trick pony as a pass rusher.

Did the Steelers find the biggest steal of the 2023 draft?

With his flashiness so far, it's no wonder why the national football media is talking about Herbig. If you recall, Herbig was one of the highest-graded players in the nation over the past two years at Wisconsin. His grade, pressure rate, and pass-rush win rate rivaled excellent prospects in recent years like Nick Bosa, Chase Young, and Aidan Hutchinson.

This begs the question: Is Herbig the biggest steal of the 2023 NFL Draft? Right now, it's obviously way too hard to know whether or not this will be the case. The NFL rookies this year haven't played so much as a single regular season game yet. However, it's certainly looking like he could be in contention for this title.

Nick Herbig still has a ton to prove, but so far, Pittsburgh Steelers fans have seen everything we could have possibly expected and more from him. We will all be extremely excited to track his performance and progress throughout the 2023 season.