Player
Nick Herbig
EDGE · Steelers
Draft round shapes expectations for a career. A 4th-round pick accumulating Crosby-tier first-3-season production signals a genuine scheme miscalculation at draft time — and a Steelers steal that compounds with every year.
15 career sacks in 3 seasons from pick 132 — only Maxx Crosby has more among 4th-round edge rushers since 2015.
Trend4th-round edge rushers with most sacks in first 3 NFL seasons (2015–2023 classes)
| Player | Draft Pick | Sacks (Yrs 1-3) |
|---|---|---|
| Maxx Crosby (2019) | 106th | 22 |
| Nick Herbig (2023) | 132nd | 15 |
| D.J. Wonnum (2020) | 117th | 14 |
| Carl Lawson (2017) | 116th | 13 |
| Trey Flowers (2015) | 101st | 12 |
Herbig's 15 regular-season sacks in his first three NFL years (3 → 5 → 7) place him 2nd among all 4th-round edge rushers since 2015 — trailing only Maxx Crosby (22), the Raiders' perennial All-Pro. Every other 4th-rounder in the analysis topped out at 14 or fewer.
Pick 132 out of Wisconsin was drafted to be a rotational body behind T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith. Three years in, his sack trajectory matches a player already in Crosby-tier company by draft value.
Sacks in first 3 NFL seasons — 4th-round edge rushers since 2015
| Player | Sacks |
|---|---|
| Crosby | 22 |
| Herbig | 15 |
| Wonnum | 14 |
| Lawson | 13 |
| Flowers | 12 |
Why it matters. Draft round shapes expectations for a career. A 4th-round pick accumulating Crosby-tier first-3-season production signals a genuine scheme miscalculation at draft time — and a Steelers steal that compounds with every year.
In 2025, Herbig out-sacked T.J. Watt (7 to 6) — the trio of Highsmith, Herbig, and Watt accounted for half of Pittsburgh's sacks.
RareSteelers pass rush leaders, 2025 (regular season)
| Player | Sacks |
|---|---|
| Alex Highsmith | 9 |
| Nick Herbig | 7 |
| T.J. Watt | 6 |
| Keeanu Benton | 5 |
| Cameron Heyward | 3 |
In 2025, Herbig's 7 sacks ranked 2nd on the Steelers — ahead of T.J. Watt's 6. Watt is a six-time All-Pro and two-time DPOY; finishing ahead of him on the team is not a normal outcome.
The Highsmith–Herbig–Watt trio combined for 22 of Pittsburgh's 44 team sacks in 2025 — exactly 50%. That trio is one of the deepest edge-rusher groups in the league, and Herbig's emergence as the #2 threat behind Highsmith has shifted how offenses allocate protection.
Why it matters. T.J. Watt is the reference point for elite pass rushing. Finishing ahead of him in sacks — even for one season — is a concrete benchmark most edge rushers never reach. It also means play-callers must now account for three legitimate threats on Pittsburgh's front.
18 QB hits in 2025 — a 64% jump from 2024 (11). His pressure rate is growing faster than his sack count.
SplitHerbig pass rush metrics by season (regular season)
| Season | Sacks | QB Hits | Hits per Sack |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 3 | 3 | 1.0 |
| 2024 | 5 | 11 | 2.2 |
| 2025 | 7 | 18 | 2.6 |
Herbig's 18 QB hits in 2025 represent a 64% jump over his 11 hits in 2024, on roughly the same snap volume. His sack count grew 40% in the same window — meaning his pressure generation outpaced his finishing rate.
The hits-per-sack ratio of 2.6 in 2025 (up from 1.0 in 2023) signals a player who is consistently reaching the quarterback, not just getting lucky on clean finishes. A rusher generating this volume of disruption with room to improve his conversion rate is a compounding threat.
QB Hits per season
| Season | QB Hits |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 3 |
| 2024 | 11 |
| 2025 | 18 |
Why it matters. QB hits measure total QB disruption including near-misses. A rusher whose QB hits are growing faster than his sacks is getting harder to stop at the line — the conversion rate catch-up typically follows in the next season.
13 TFLs in 2025 — more than his first two NFL seasons combined (10). The breakthrough wasn't just about sacks.
MilestoneTFLs by season (regular season)
| Season | TFL |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 5 |
| 2024 | 5 |
| 2025 | 13 |
Herbig posted 13 tackles for loss in 2025 — more than his combined total across 2023 (5) and 2024 (5), which stood at 10. The 30% gap over his own two-year baseline shows this wasn't a marginal improvement.
13 TFL is a top-30 number league-wide at the LB/edge position. The TFL spike is the run-defense counterpart to his QB-hit surge: the 2025 breakthrough reached further into the backfield on every play type, not just on passing downs.
Why it matters. TFLs measure how often a defender disrupts the run game before it gets started. Doubling-plus this number from year 3 suggests a scheme usage shift — more penetration assignments, not just containment — which is a permanent upgrade in role.
9 career forced fumbles in 3 seasons — most in the entire 2023 draft class, nearly double the next-highest edge rusher.
Anomaly2023 draft class — forced fumbles, first 3 NFL seasons
| Player | Round | FF (Yrs 1-3) |
|---|---|---|
| Nick Herbig | 4th | 9 |
| Tuli Tuipulotu | 2nd | 5 |
| Byron Young | 3rd | 4 |
| Will Anderson Jr. | 1st | 4 |
| Tyree Wilson | 1st | 4 |
Herbig's 9 forced fumbles across 2023–2025 lead the entire 2023 draft class — and he is a 4th-round pick. The next-closest edge rusher, Tuli Tuipulotu (2nd round), has 5. Will Anderson Jr. (pick #3 overall) has 4.
In 2024, Herbig registered 4 forced fumbles, ranking 2nd on Pittsburgh behind T.J. Watt (6). The Wisconsin scout report's 'punches the ball out on every rep' note has aged well: three years of NFL data back it up at the class-leading level.
Why it matters. Forced fumbles are the most volatile and skill-dependent turnover in football. A pass rusher who leads his entire draft class in FF — while playing in a rotation behind two All-Pro teammates — is providing a quality of impact that doesn't show up in sack totals alone.
12 sacks in 2024-25 from pick 132 — 5th in the 2023 class, the only 4th-rounder in the top 5.
Comparison2023 draft class — sacks in 2024–25 (regular season), top 6
| Player | Draft Pick | Sacks (2024-25) |
|---|---|---|
| Will Anderson Jr. | #3 | 21 |
| Tuli Tuipulotu | #54 | 20 |
| Byron Young | #77 | 18 |
| Will McDonald IV | #15 | 17 |
| Nick Herbig | #132 | 12 |
| Yaya Diaby | #82 | 11 |
Herbig's 12 sacks in 2024-25 (5+7) rank him 5th in the entire 2023 draft class — and he is the only 4th-round pick in the top 5. The four players ahead of him were selected in the top 77 picks; Herbig was the 132nd overall pick.
He's producing this in a rotational role. With T.J. Watt and Highsmith drawing the top blocking schemes, Herbig is generating elite results from complementary snaps. A 12-sack pace as a third rusher projects to substantially more as a featured pass rusher.
Why it matters. Draft capital is the market's best guess at a player's ceiling. Outperforming four top-77 picks in the same class in raw sacks — while playing as a third-team rusher — suggests draft value was radically mispriced at pick 132.
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