Steelers may be wasting one of the NFL’s best pass-rush weapons

Nick Herbig has already earned plenty of praise from Pittsburgh Steelers fans, but NFL analyst Gregg Rosenthal believes the edge rusher still fits the underrated label for one specific reason.

It is not because fans have missed what Herbig can do. It is because the Steelers still have not fully leaned into it.

Rosenthal named Herbig among the AFC North’s most underrated players on the May 19 episode of “NFL Daily,” pointing to one pass-rush metric that keeps Herbig in elite company.

Nick Herbig is somehow still underrated, even by his own team pic.twitter.com/C3H3GesRM8— Gregg Rosenthal (@greggrosenthal) May 19, 2026

“A lot of people have different opinions about the pass-rush win rate stat in general, but in 2024, Nick Herbig's pass-rush win rate was so far ahead of the entire rest of the league,” Rosenthal said. “He was 34%, and the next closest was 25.”

Rosenthal noted that the next closest names were not exactly random. Will Anderson Jr., Jonathan Greenard, Nik Bonitto, Micah Parsons, Abdul Carter, and Myles Garrett were all in that same conversation.

Even if pass-rush win rate is not a perfect stat, it’s hard to dismiss when the leaderboard is filled with some of the NFL’s top edge rushers.

“So, I don't know how flawed that stat is if it's pumping out those players as the best pass rushers in the league,” Rosenthal said. “And yet, I still think that makes him a little underrated to be able to do that in back-to-back seasons.”

Herbig has backed up that efficiency with real production since arriving as a fourth-round pick out of Wisconsin in the 2023 NFL Draft. In 45 games, including 11 starts, he has totaled 16 sacks, 79 tackles, 23 tackles for loss, and 32 quarterback hits.

He also has four fumble recoveries, including one returned for a touchdown last season against the Chicago Bears after T.J. Watt strip-sacked Caleb Williams in the end zone.

Touchdown, #Steelers.

T.J. Watt strip sack of Caleb Williams in the end zone. Nick Herbig recovers.pic.twitter.com/SxBzDyaSXkhttps://t.co/R7PobXxEyd— Alan Saunders (@ASaunders_PGH) November 23, 2025

Rosenthal’s bigger issue is usage. He said Pittsburgh increased Herbig’s snaps early because of injuries, only to scale him back late in the season.

“So, he's not underrated by ‘Joe Fan,’ he's underrated by the Steelers,” Rosenthal said. “And that's why he deserves to still be on that list.”

This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: Steelers’ Nick Herbig usage comes under scrutiny