Nick Herbig NFL Draft Overview
Position: Linebacker
Height: 6′-2″
Weight: 240 pounds
School: Wisconsin
2023 NFL Draft: Nick Herbig Scouting Report
After spending the past three seasons with the Wisconsin Badgers, Nick Herbig has decided to skip the remainder of his collegiate eligibility and declare for the 2023 NFL Draft. The linebacker is coming off a phenomenal season, recording 47 tackles, 15.5 tackles-for-loss, and 11 sacks in just 11 games.
Herbig originally joined the college football world in the 2020 season. Appearing in seven games as a true freshman, the linebacker finished his inaugural campaign with 26 tackles, six tackles-for-loss, and one sack. Herbig proceeded to establish himself as one of the best pass rushers in the country during the 2021 season, racking up 61 tackles, 14.5 tackles-for-loss, and nine sacks in 13 games.
Strengths
- Possesses a variety of moves to get past offensive tackles – varied pass rush should translate to the next level;
- Strong against the run and the pass – 30 tackles-for-loss over the past two seasons;
- Fluid movement allows him to thrive in zone coverage;
- NFL-caliber strength and speed;
- Fast around the edge – will be hard to slower tackles to match his movement.
Weaknesses
- Doesn’t set the edge well – would rather go around blockers with speed than match their strength;
- Somewhat positionless – played EDGE in college but lacks the size to do that in the NFL;
- Will basically need to learn a new position on the fly;
- Limited experience in man coverage;
- Small arms impact his ball skills;
NFL Comparison: Jamie Collins
Teams With Need at Position: Buffalo Bills, Chicago Bears, Cleveland Browns, Denver Broncos, Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Chargers, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots
Projection: Round 3
Bottom Line on Nick Herbig
Nick Herbig is a good football player that, unfortunately, spent the majority of his time in college playing a position he won’t be able to play at the NFL level. The Wisconsin product spent most of his time playing a pseudo-edge role, living close to the line of scrimmage and never doing too much in coverage. At 6′-2″ and 240 pounds, he could get away with his smaller build in college, but he’s not going to hold up against NFL-caliber tackles.
Put simply, even he added more muscle, Nick Herbig simply doesn’t have the build required to survive in that role. He’ll need to be an off-ball linebacker at the professional level, and he didn’t do that too often at Wisconsin. Where there are plenty of similarities between a 3-4 OLB and a true off-ball linebacker, there are a lot of differences too. He’ll need to play man coverage, which is something he rarely did in college, so who knows how he’ll handle the role in the NFL.
This transition may mean that Herbig won’t make much of an impact as a rookie, but there are still plenty of reasons that an NFL team would love to add him to the roster. First and foremost, the linebacker excels at getting to the quarterback. He already has multiple refined pass rush moves that should translate to the NFL, so at the very worst, he’ll be a decent situational pass rusher. Additionally, while he didn’t play man too often in college, he did play zone a decent amount, and his fluid movements should allow him to handle the responsibility. As an added bonus, he can play the run well and is a sound tackler.
Ultimately, Nick Herbig is a bit of a project that will be worth the investment for a team with the proper patience. While he might not do too much as a rookie, he has everything it takes to be an above-average starter once he actually learns the position.
Main Photo: Kirby Lee – USA Today Sports
