The Pittsburgh Steelers are set to have one of the better defenses in the NFL this season, and the edge rushers will play a huge part in that.
Not only does Pittsburgh have one of the best in the business in T.J. Watt, but he's flanked by Alex Highsmith, who is one heck of a sidekick after posting 21.5 sacks over the past two seasons.
In a recent article ranking every position group around the NFL, ESPN's Mike Clay put the Steelers' EDGE group at No. 1. Clay also gave a shoutout to Nick Herbig in his write-up.
T.J. Watt has been a first-team All-Pro in each of his past four healthy seasons and has a league-high 96.5 sacks since entering the league in 2017 (no one else has more than 88.5). Alex Highsmith has played a massive 85% of the defensive snaps over the past two seasons and sits 12th in the league in sacks (21.5) during the span. Depth is a slight concern, though second-year Nick Herbig impressed on 201 snaps as a rookie.
Herbig was indeed impressive during his rookie campaign, tallying three sacks and eight total pressures in just 74 pass-rush snaps. The hope is that he can provide a reliable depth option behind Watt and Highsmith in his second season.
As far as the rest of the Steelers' position groups were concerned, here's how Clay ranked them:
QB: 23
RB: 11
WR: 30
TE: 14
OL: 26
IDL: 7
EDGE: 1
LB: 13
CB: 21
S: 6
Overall: 20
With the Steelers coming off a 10-win, playoff season, and having improved at the two positions that gave them the most trouble in 2023 (offensive line and quarterback), they should be more toward the middle of the pack overall.
When the 2024 campaign is all said and done, we could very well see a significant jump up in these rankings at least three position groups, including quarterback, offensive line and cornerback.