Herbig's Breakout: Steelers' Edge Rusher Dilemma

0:00It's April 5th. You're listening to NFL News Today, AI-powered NFL coverage. Pittsburgh Steelers sitting on a luxury problem at outside linebacker with TJ Watt and Owatt's highsmith holding it down as the stars, but third year. Nick Herbick just exploded onto the scene. In 2025, he balled out with 8 sacks and 47 pressures and just 610 snaps, earning an 87.1. Pass rush grade that ranked 8th league wide among edge guys. That efficiency put Herbick in a league company, top 10 overall, even though he played way fewer snaps than the big dogs, proving it's all skill, no, scraps. Now the team's got to figure out how to deploy this beast without wasting him on the bench. New defensive coordinator, Patrick Graham, wants to roll with a three outside linebacker package in 2026, putting Watt, highsmith, and Herbick out there together. He'll slide Herbick inside sometimes to mess with guards, embracing that versatility

1:01vibe to fix last year's run defense issues. Fans in front office buzzing about the impact, Airbick's no depth guy anymore, he's a weapon forcing real rotations and scheme tweaks. But with cap space tied up in the vets, it's shaking of how they build this win now squad. Heading into his final rookie year in 2026, Herbick's auditioning for a big extension, or they might trade a star to keep him long term. He was better to sigh quick, because losing this riser cheap could haunt their contention run for years.