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A Pittsburgh Steelers pass rusher led the NFL in pass rush win rate in 2025.
But no, it wasn't T.J. Watt.
It was Nick Herbig.
Herbig is just a rotational player for Pittsburgh, but when he was on the field, he was dominant.
That has ESPN's Aaron Schatz raise the question in a new article on Wednesday: What if Herbig could go elsewhere and fully spread his wings?
He acknowledges that the Steelers don't have a great reason to get rid of Herbig. It's more a thought on the flip side of things, just thinking it could be cool for Herbig to get a chance to fully shine.
"This is a different kind of call for a change of scenery," Schatz writes. "Herbig is probably happy in Pittsburgh, and he certainly is providing a lot of value for the Steelers. However, it would be really nice to see what Herbig could do as a starter somewhere -- because right now, he's stuck behind T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith as a rotational player. Herbig led the league with a 26.3% pass rush win rate in 2025, and he had 7.5 sacks, despite playing just 52% of snaps. Could he lead the league if he were starting for another team?"
MORE: The Packers are facing a bit of a ripoff with Malik Willis
There are players like this in every sport.
One that comes to mind is James Harden when he was with the Oklahoma City Thunder. He went from a sixth man there to an MVP contender with the Houston Rockets.
Herbig appears to have a big ceiling, and maybe the Steelers will start playing him more to help him realize his full potential.
But there's also certainly a path for Herbig to break through in a new uniform. Maybe other teams will pick up the phone and see if that's a possibility.
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- Michael Pittman's contract may point to a trade
- How will the Vikings get competition for J.J. McCarthy?
- Steelers could go trade route to find a new quarterback
- Could a Chiefs reunion with Tyreek Hill be closer?
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