The Pittsburgh Steelers just extended EDGE Nick Herbig, who forms one of the NFL’s strongest trios at the position with T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith. How this looks moving forward remains to be seen. The goal of this article is to look at some pass rush and run defense stats, giving context to what went well and what will hopefully improve after Herbig’s payday.
First, here’s a pass-rushing chart. Included is Pro Football Focus’ Pass Rush Productivity metric (PRP=a formula that combines sacks, hits, and hurries relative to how many times players rush the passer) and pass-rush win rate (percentage of wins versus blocking on non-penalty pass rush snaps):
Here we see that two Steelers landed above the mean in each in 2025, including Herbig. He led the trio with a 16.9-percent pass-rush win rate that ranked 10th among the 43 EDGE rushers with at least 600 regular-season snaps. That’ll get you paid.
Herbig also had an above-average 8.3 pass rush productivity number that tied for 19th. In other words, Herbig defeated the blocker in front of him at a top-10 rate and had above average production compared to his snap count. There is hopefully more room for growth on the latter.
Here’s how the three stacked up in the stats (43 qualifiers):
Herbig: 16.9-percent win rate (10th), 8.3 PRP (T-19th).
Highsmith: 16.1-percent win rate (14th), 8.9 PRP (14th).
Watt: 12.4-percent win rate (23rd), 6.2 PRP (37th).
We see that Highsmith had the best balance of the two, ranking top 15 in each. Watt certainly had a down year. Not to make excuses, but he sees double (and triple) teams at one of the highest rates in the NFL. Assuming the trio remains intact for 2026, having all three on the field much more than last season could benefit all three.
Now for some run defense. Here are run defense average tackle depth and run defense missed tackle rates:
Zooming back in on Herbig, we can see there were terrific and terrible elements to his run defense. On the bright side, his 0.2 average tackle depth ranked second, bested only by recently traded Myles Garrett. A rather impressive feat. The other side of the coin for Herbig had a second-worst 23.8-percent missed tackle rate against the run though. It is true that Nick Herbig is more than a pass rusher, but in these terms his run defense was rather volatile.
Here’s the Steelers trio’s run defense stat breakdown:
Herbig: 0.2 average tackle depth (2nd), 23.8-percent missed tackle rate (42nd).
Highsmith: 2.1 average tackle depth (T-15th), 5.0-percent missed tackle rate (3rd).
Watt: 2.4 average tackle depth (T-21st), 11.4-percent missed tackle rate (25th).
Once again, Highsmith had the best balance of both metrics. Highsmith missing mandatory minicamp the day after news broke about Herbig’s extension spurred speculation but turns out it was due to an illness. All appearances point to him being happy for his teammate and wanting one of the best EDGE rooms in the NFL.
The ultimate goal in my opinion is an everyone wins mentality, attacking opposing offenses with ferocity as a group. Hopefully this includes the Steelers using Watt, Highsmith, and Herbig in more three-outside linebacker packages than they did in 2025. That could help each of them build on their pass-rushing success and counter the attention opposing teams place on one player (Watt would love that).
Herbig blew up plays when making run tackles but also whiffed way more frequently than is ideal. That’s the biggest thing we hopefully see improve from his 2025 season. That would pair nicely with continued pass-rush success, which was the main reason for Herbig receiving his new contract extension.
