A strong case can be made that the best rookie the Pittsburgh Steelers have through two preseason games is outside linebacker Nick Herbig. The fourth-round pick out of Wisconsin didn’t join the team with a lot of fanfare but his level of play has been impressive.
Herbig has 2.5 sacks over 40 snaps and two preseason games as well as four pressures and one forced fumble. He’s only allowed one reception for four yards and has a 22.7 percent pass-rush win rate.
This kind of production, even just in preseason, is enough that Pittsburgh will need to find a way to incorporate him into the outside linebacker rotation. Herbig has had the opportunity to learn from T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith and he has really improved since making the jump to the NFL.
So if we assume Herbig works into the rotation behind Watt and Highsmith with veteran Markus Golden, how many sacks will he finish the season with?
Cast your vote and let us know. If I were to put a number to it and I will soon for all the defensive players with my pre-season predictions, I’d go with five sacks for Herbig as a situational pass rusher.
