**How much will the Steelers play Nick Herbig and Jack Sawyer on defense this year?**
With Nick Herbig and Jack Sawyer, the Steelers have stocked their outside linebacker depth, but how will they deploy them? If T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith stay healthy, how many snaps will their backups see? There are a variety of things they could do, but which strategy would be the most effective?
In roughly 600 career defensive snaps, Nick Herbig already has 8.5 sacks. Jack Sawyer, of course, doesn’t have any sacks, or anything else, being a rookie. However, he comes to the Steelers a ready-made professional who fits their system.
Historically, the Steelers don’t like to take their starting outside linebackers off the field much. It used to be that Watt and Highsmith also didn’t want to come off the field. As they’ve gotten older, however, it seems they’ve seen the wisdom of more rest. Nick Herbig’s ability to prove himself the last two years also facilitates their comfort in knowing the defense won’t drop off a cliff without them.
But how often would the Steelers take Watt and Highsmith off the field at the same time? In other words, how many snaps would Nick Herbig and Jack Sawyer play together? Herbig is stronger as a pass rusher, while Sawyer leans a bit more toward the run. Their differing strengths also give you the opportunity to use them more situationally.
Herbig played over 400 snaps last year, largely due to Highsmith dealing with injuries. But he also dealt with them himself, missing four games. He still recorded 5.5 sacks and forced four fumbles with five tackles for loss. The Steelers can’t expect Jack Sawyer to march in and match that per-snap efficiency, of course.
He did show in college, however, that he has a knack for making impact plays, which drew the Steelers to him. In talking about Jack Sawyer, they basically said they weren’t really looking for an outside linebacker. He was just too good of a value sitting in the fourth round to pass up, though, so now the Steelers have him _and_ Nick Herbig. But now that they have them, how will they use them?
_The Steelers are rebuilding, or reloading, whatever they feel the need to call it, after another disappointment last season. Though they limped into the playoffs, they once again embarrassed themselves therein._
_Just like last year, the biggest question hanging over the Steelers is_ [_the quarterback question_](https://steelersdepot.com/2025/04/schrager-thinkhttps:/steelersdepot.com/2025/06/aaron-rodgers-confirms-he-plans-to-retire-after-2025-nfl-season/)_. While they ultimately traded George Pickens, they have other decisions to make. The_ [_2025 NFL Draft class_](https://www.steelers.com/draft/) _is now behind us, so most of the roster construction is complete._
_But we still have a long offseason ahead for Steelers football, or football in shorts. At least we can finally put the Aaron Rodgers situation to bed and move on to other things. Now it’s about evaluating the roster in place and filling holes as we go._