The Pittsburgh Steelers have had many great pass rushers throughout the organization's history, two of which include James Harrison and TJ Watt. Watt has had an incredibly successful career so far, and he is just 29 years old. He broke Harrison's franchise sack record during the 2023 season and will be remembered as a football legend. That doesn't mean he can't be jealous of Nick Herbig's first career sack, which he got in the Steelers Week 7 win over the Los Angeles Rams.
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Steelers edge rusher TJ Watt (#90) knows how much rides on his performances for the 2023 Steelers to be successful
Herbig was selected by the Steelers in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL Draft, and the rookie got his first sack against the Rams when he took down Matthew Stafford. Herbig went to Wisconsin, which is also where Watt played his college football.
It was reported that the two had been talking and working together before the Steelers even made the decision to draft Herbig. The rookie looks up to Watt, and Watt has been mentoring him for a while now.
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Steelers' Nick Herbig at Wisconsin
Steelers' Watt Jealous Of Herbig's First NFL Sack
Watt has spoken openly about his and Herbig's relationship with how close they are and how they have an open dialogue when it comes to pass rushing, so after Herbig's first sack Watt received quite a few questions about Herbig and how he has progressed. He seemed proud of Herbig for finally getting his first sack, but turned a little envious when the question was followed up with whether or not Watt remembers his first time sacking the quarterback.
"DeShone Kizer, right? That's what I told him I said 'Matt Stafford's a pretty dang cool one isn't it?' We were talking about that a lot this week for sure."
Of course, Herbig has about 84.5 more sacks to go before he reaches Watt's level. But, he will always be able to hang his first sack over Watt's head. Kizer is currently a free agent looking for another opportunity in the NFL. He was drafted in the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns, just 22 picks after Watt was selected by the Steelers.
Kizer only lasted a year with Cleveland before being traded to the Green Bay Packers. Kizer led the league in interceptions his rookie year with Cleveland, throwing 22 which effectively ended his career of being a starting quarterback in the NFL.
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Steelers' TJ Watt got his first career sack on DeShone Kizer
Stafford, on the other hand, has had a completely different career in the NFL. He was the first overall pick by the Detroit Lions back in 2009, and since then he has consistently been one of the league's better quarterbacks and is considered by some to be a future Hall Of Famer. He has thrown for over 50,000 yards in his career and 340 touchdowns while throwing just 175 interceptions.
He was traded to the Rams in 2021 and won a Super Bowl in his first year with the team. So it's safe to say Herbig's first career sack was a little more impressive than Watt's.
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Steelers EDGE T.J. Watt managed to pick off Los Angeles Rams QB Matthew Stafford to change the momentum of the entire game.
Although Watt was a little envious about Herbig's first career sack, he still had nothing but good things to say about the rookie. Watt was asked in his press conference about how much Herbig picks his brain and what he has seen from the rookie thus far and how he feels Herbig has progressed since joining the organization.
"A good amount, honestly he just loves pass rushing so we talk, we have an open dialogue about certain pass rush moves and what we think each other could improve on. Just what we could do better or if we're trying to tweak a move that one guy does better than the other we're always trying to bounce ideas off each other. He's going to continue to get better, that first one is important just for the confidence aspect of it and I think he has a long, successful career ahead of him."
High praise from a pass rusher of Watt's level is a good sign for Steelers fans and a lot should be expected from the rookie moving forward. Watt wasn't able to get to Stafford in the Week 7 victory, but he did have a game changing interception that ignited the Steelers comeback. The Steelers were down 9-3 to open the second half and Watt's interception set the offense up to score their first touchdown of the game.
What do you think about Watt being envious of Herbig's first career sack? Let us know in the comments below!
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