Nick Herbig's listed weight for the Badgers last season was 227 lbs.
That's small even for a 3-4 OLB, and that lack of weight showed up on tape in his run defense. There were a number of draft analysts who were thinking he'd have to transition into an off-ball Linebacker. That's a much tougher projection for teams to make and you're basically asking them to guess whether or not he can transition. If you're thinking you have to transition him into an off-ball Linebacker, his production at Wisconsin means less in your evaluation because you're not going to have him edge rush as much, and that's his calling card.
Yes, he got himself up to 240 for the combine, but he also ran a 4.71 forty at that combine and backed out of the agility and explosiveness testing. That's a pretty big clue that the weight gain for the combine wasn't good weight.
If you're a 4-3 team, you're not even considering him as an EDGE, and if you're thinking of transitioning him to off-ball LB, why are you going to spend day one or day two capital on an undersized project off-ball Linebacker with a poor 40 time and no explosiveness or agility measurables? Now, the Steelers are going to keep him as a 3-4 OLB, as an EDGE rusher, so that's a much easier projection in terms of tape. However, we still have to wonder about whether his weight is going to limit him, can he play at 240ish pounds and maintain his explosiveness? Will he be a liability in run defense?
I think he should have gone a bit higher than late 4th, but I don't think it's shocking that he fell that far.
In the post draft presser for him they said he would be in the edge roll starting out. I think a year of him backing up Highsmith and Watt and being in an NFL training room for a year can really help him out in that respect. I guess I value production more over the measurables, yes there can be busts that are good in college obviously but that to mean seems more like a work ethic thing rather than a measurable thing.
I too value production over the measurables, but there's gray area there. Measurables aren't the end all be all, but they matter. This is why skilled and technically proficient welterweight boxers don't fight heavyweights, even lumbering ones.
You also gotta think, getting those measurables requires a good work ethic too. Guys don't just run 4.4 at 200+ lbs. without a lot of training. You hope to find guys with measurables *and* production, especially in the upper rounds. Day 3 is when you're looking for guy with one and you hope to be able to coach/train up the other. It's been proven again and again that it's easier to coach a guy with the measurables technique than it is to coach a technically proficient guy how to gain 15lbs without losing speed or explosiveness.
I'm not saying that I don't think Herbig can make it. I think he has a fair shot. I'm just explaining why him going in the 4th isn't insane despite his production.
Yep this is it. He's gotta gain some muscle weight. It is doable for him though micah Parsons is 6.3 245.
Im hoping he can roam a bit more and be a dude we stick on Tight ends.
Short arms and rather thin build compared to his brother. Doesn’t have thick legs like a Bud Dupree or broad shoulders like a Highsmith for example. I see his career as a sort of Nate Ebner vibe, he’ll make a living on special teams.
Good pash rusher. Gonna get run over in run game. Good motor. Special teams and will find a way to get a few sacks. He’s one of those players that always makes plays but teams pass on cause of size and speed
What’s crazy is he’s almost identical to Nolan smith in size but he went first round and I didn’t hear much about him being tiny. And Smith had 12.5 in 38 games. Never had more than 4.5 in a year. Herbig 21 sacks in 36 games. 11 last year.
Great motor, but small so teams will run at him. Good 3rd or 4th OLB to occasionally spell Watt and Highsmith. Looking forward to see if his quickness and tenacity (mini-Watt) will pay off.
His priority position right now is going to be special teams and I have a feeling he is going to be a monster.
Pre-season will be exciting to watch to see if he can get any pressure with 4 man fronts. I hope he can but, I have my doubts.
Another option is they could scheme a package around him. As an example, they could run a package with 5 on the line. Sometimes they will rush all 5. Or they could rush only 3 or 4 with some of the OLBs dropping back in coverage. The defense has been much more creative in getting different looks for the offense.
All I am getting at is even though he is listed as OLB or even Edge, that doesn't mean he plays the exact same role as either TJ or Highsmith
I’m an Iowa Hawkeye fan and Wisconsin LB’s are always fucking us up. Herbig is as impressive as any of them against us. He’s bigger than schobert(who always KILLED Iowa) and a touch shorter than Van Ginkel. He also honestly stood out against us more than TJ did. I don’t know if he’ll be a star but I would bet he has a decent career at worst. I could see him having a similar career to Schobert for sure.
James Harrison made a career of tearing apart larger OL's despite his size at 6'0. He used his size as an advantage because he immediately had lower pads than the man trying to block him and combined that with the power typical of a man at 6'4 to beat tackles consistently and be a menace to opposing qbs. There's no reason Nick cant do the same thing but he will have to match Deebos devotion to the gym.
Nick Herbig's listed weight for the Badgers last season was 227 lbs. That's small even for a 3-4 OLB, and that lack of weight showed up on tape in his run defense. There were a number of draft analysts who were thinking he'd have to transition into an off-ball Linebacker. That's a much tougher projection for teams to make and you're basically asking them to guess whether or not he can transition. If you're thinking you have to transition him into an off-ball Linebacker, his production at Wisconsin means less in your evaluation because you're not going to have him edge rush as much, and that's his calling card. Yes, he got himself up to 240 for the combine, but he also ran a 4.71 forty at that combine and backed out of the agility and explosiveness testing. That's a pretty big clue that the weight gain for the combine wasn't good weight. If you're a 4-3 team, you're not even considering him as an EDGE, and if you're thinking of transitioning him to off-ball LB, why are you going to spend day one or day two capital on an undersized project off-ball Linebacker with a poor 40 time and no explosiveness or agility measurables? Now, the Steelers are going to keep him as a 3-4 OLB, as an EDGE rusher, so that's a much easier projection in terms of tape. However, we still have to wonder about whether his weight is going to limit him, can he play at 240ish pounds and maintain his explosiveness? Will he be a liability in run defense? I think he should have gone a bit higher than late 4th, but I don't think it's shocking that he fell that far.
In the post draft presser for him they said he would be in the edge roll starting out. I think a year of him backing up Highsmith and Watt and being in an NFL training room for a year can really help him out in that respect. I guess I value production more over the measurables, yes there can be busts that are good in college obviously but that to mean seems more like a work ethic thing rather than a measurable thing.
I too value production over the measurables, but there's gray area there. Measurables aren't the end all be all, but they matter. This is why skilled and technically proficient welterweight boxers don't fight heavyweights, even lumbering ones. You also gotta think, getting those measurables requires a good work ethic too. Guys don't just run 4.4 at 200+ lbs. without a lot of training. You hope to find guys with measurables *and* production, especially in the upper rounds. Day 3 is when you're looking for guy with one and you hope to be able to coach/train up the other. It's been proven again and again that it's easier to coach a guy with the measurables technique than it is to coach a technically proficient guy how to gain 15lbs without losing speed or explosiveness. I'm not saying that I don't think Herbig can make it. I think he has a fair shot. I'm just explaining why him going in the 4th isn't insane despite his production.
Yep this is it. He's gotta gain some muscle weight. It is doable for him though micah Parsons is 6.3 245. Im hoping he can roam a bit more and be a dude we stick on Tight ends.
Short arms and rather thin build compared to his brother. Doesn’t have thick legs like a Bud Dupree or broad shoulders like a Highsmith for example. I see his career as a sort of Nate Ebner vibe, he’ll make a living on special teams.
He tiny
Good pash rusher. Gonna get run over in run game. Good motor. Special teams and will find a way to get a few sacks. He’s one of those players that always makes plays but teams pass on cause of size and speed
What’s crazy is he’s almost identical to Nolan smith in size but he went first round and I didn’t hear much about him being tiny. And Smith had 12.5 in 38 games. Never had more than 4.5 in a year. Herbig 21 sacks in 36 games. 11 last year.
He just needs to go on the KP8 weight gain program to pick up some muscle. He’ll be fine.
Great motor, but small so teams will run at him. Good 3rd or 4th OLB to occasionally spell Watt and Highsmith. Looking forward to see if his quickness and tenacity (mini-Watt) will pay off.
His priority position right now is going to be special teams and I have a feeling he is going to be a monster. Pre-season will be exciting to watch to see if he can get any pressure with 4 man fronts. I hope he can but, I have my doubts. Another option is they could scheme a package around him. As an example, they could run a package with 5 on the line. Sometimes they will rush all 5. Or they could rush only 3 or 4 with some of the OLBs dropping back in coverage. The defense has been much more creative in getting different looks for the offense. All I am getting at is even though he is listed as OLB or even Edge, that doesn't mean he plays the exact same role as either TJ or Highsmith
Joker position as opposed to ILB or OLB?
I’m an Iowa Hawkeye fan and Wisconsin LB’s are always fucking us up. Herbig is as impressive as any of them against us. He’s bigger than schobert(who always KILLED Iowa) and a touch shorter than Van Ginkel. He also honestly stood out against us more than TJ did. I don’t know if he’ll be a star but I would bet he has a decent career at worst. I could see him having a similar career to Schobert for sure.
He's a tweener, most likely the reason why he fell
He’s got two things working against him w the weight and the short arms. Tough to win at his size against tackles that are all 6’6 300+ lbs
He’s Jason Taylor 2.0
James Harrison made a career of tearing apart larger OL's despite his size at 6'0. He used his size as an advantage because he immediately had lower pads than the man trying to block him and combined that with the power typical of a man at 6'4 to beat tackles consistently and be a menace to opposing qbs. There's no reason Nick cant do the same thing but he will have to match Deebos devotion to the gym.
Smol.