T.J. Watt might be the best pass-rusher in the NFL, but Nick Herbig can still teach him a thing or two about how to get to the quarterback. He freely admits that Herbig is as much a source of knowledge for him as he is for Herbig in one aspect. In terms of repertoire, the young gun has him beat.
“I think Herb has a deeper bag than me, in all honesty”, Watt said of Herbig on the Not Just Football podcast. “I think it comes from just him being groomed as a pass rusher from high school all the way up, and I think he just has a deep bag of pass-rush moves. That’s something that I’m always picking his brain on, is working new moves, trying to work them. So he’s got a deeper bag than me, for sure, when it comes to a pass-rush selection”.
For those unaware, T.J. Watt wasn’t born as a pass-rusher. He went to Wisconsin as a tight end and only moved to defense later on. He also seems convinced that he could have been a good quarterback. On the other hand, Nick Herbig has always been on the edge, chasing quarterbacks.
Watt is going into his ninth season in the NFL, but Herbig has been studying the pass rush his whole football life. And he has had the benefit of great teachers along the way, including Watt. He worked with Herbig at the latter’s Pro Day, which Herbig joked he did to try to go viral.
Still, it does go both ways, as you would expect. After a preseason sack last year using a cross chop, Nick Herbig said it was something T.J. Watt taught him. The entire room is made up of eternal students of the game, though. And now all of them are pouring their knowledge into Jack Sawyer, the rookie fourth-round pick.
Steelers HC Mike Tomlin always says he doesn’t care where good ideas come from. Neither do pass rushers care where they find a good move. Watt said he finds ideas on social media, and I’m sure Herbig does, too. Whatever helps you get to the quarterback and is legal, it’s all fair game.
Training camp is also a time of experimentation for Watt, Herbig, Alex Highsmith, and all pass rushers. This is the time they break out their bag of tricks and see what works. However, Watt likes to keep his fastball sharp and his repertoire strong. He might have a lot of tricks in his bag, but Herbig is more liable to reach deeper into his.
But nobody has a deeper money bag than Watt, as Herbig and the rest of his teammates know. Watt’s response about Herbig was prompted by a question about what he would take from him. When asking Herbig the same question about Watt, Cam Heyward joked, aside from the money. But it won’t be long before Herbig gets some money of his own. He could be in for a contract extension in 2026 and could hit free agency in 2027.
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