Here's Looking At You Nate Herbig

Edition #259

Good morning!

We’re going to have a little bit of time over the next week to sit back and take stock of the season so far. I’m planning to look at the free agents and draft class, and almost do a year in review (so far).

This weekend the Jets will have the opportunity to go first in the AFC east if the 7-1 Vikings can take down the 6-2 Bulls, and we won’t even have to snap a football. So if you’re looking for a team to watch this weekend, cheering on Kirk Cousins may be your first port of call.

Today we’re going to focus on one Jet in particular and that man is Nate Herbig. But before we do that, let’s just take a look at the power ranking situation.

NFL.com has the Jets moving up into 9th place, 5 spots up on last week’s ranking of #14 - “A week after a disappointing loss to the Patriots, the Baby Jets put together their most complete effort of the season in an upset of the mighty Bills.”

ESPN has the Jets one spot higher at #8 in their power ranking, also up 5 places on last week’s ranking of #13. However CBS isn’t drinking that kool-aid just yet, they have the Jets at #14 overall.

Yahoo sports have the Jets at #10 overall: “Give the Jets plenty of credit. They could have faltered after losing to New England, but didn’t. Robert Saleh’s team was not wowed by Buffalo and wound up with its sixth win”

I didn’t include this in the Stat Pack yesterday but I did write about it over on Gang Green Nation, for the first time this year the Jets have entered the top 10 in DVOA, but there are a couple of key aspects that they could do with working on over the bye week.

2022 has been a year full of welcome surprises for the Jets as we head into our bye week at 6-3. Nate Herbig has been one of the biggest when you consider the injuries we’ve sustained on the offensive line.

The Eagle’s depth on the offensive line led to Herbig being cut, that’s the simple explanation for why he became available in May. Philadelphia is the gold standard when it comes to offensive lines, led by the likes of Jason Kelce, Lane Johnson, and Landon Dickerson. After selecting Cam Jurgens the Eagles felt comfortable moving on, especially as they had Isaac Seumalo and Iosua Opeta on the books.

Philadelphia General Manager Howie Roseman tried to deal Herbig during the draft but despite numerous trade discussions (and I believe the Jets were in contact, but couldn’t 100% confirm that), they were unable to find a trade partner. In the end, it came down to economics. By releasing Herbig the Eagles saved $2.4 million against the cap.

Herbig was undrafted out of Stanford in 2019, and after spending much of his rookie year watching from the sideline, he would go on to start 17 games over the next two years. He was renowned as a good run blocker and consistently graded out well in the passing game allowing just 3 sacks over 848 passing snaps while spending time at left guard, right guard and even playing some center.

When the Jets claimed him the hope was he wouldn’t have to play a single snap. After all, we’d spent big on Laken Tomlinson and had a budding All-Pro on the right side in Alijah Vera-Tucker, but the NFL has humbled the Jet’s offensive line depth this year. Herbig made his debut in week four against Pittsburgh with Alijah Vera-Tucker sliding out to right tackle, and he’s really gone from strength to strength.

So far in 2022, he’s yet to allow a single sack over 198 pass-blocking snaps and his pass-blocking efficiency of 98.4 is a career-high mark. PFF doesn’t grade him highly in the run game but since when did we ever agree with PFF? To the eye test, I would argue that he’s been one of the better run-blockers on the Jets this year. So far the Jets are averaging 116 yards on the ground per game, and when you narrow it down to the last three games that number jumps to 126.7.

On appearances, he doesn’t seem to be the ideal zone-blocking type of player, but he’s shown a remarkable amount of athleticism so far this season, and considering he’s played zone throughout his career in the NFL, that shouldn’t really come as a huge surprise. Here’s a breakdown of his snap counts in zone and in gap schemes, as you you can see, he’s actually playing more Gap with the Jets than he’s done over the course of his career.

When I said he was going from strength to strength, I really meant it. Over his last three games, he’s allowed just 1 pressure in total, and his pass-blocking efficiency has been perfect in two of three games. And probably most notable of all, he’s played 100% of the snaps in games he’s played, may seem small but with a team who are only the 5th and 6th offensive tackles, it can’t be understated.

According to ESPN stats and information, Herbig is the 12th best guard in football in terms of win rate, that's based on 65 qualified players. Not bad for a guy that we picked up off waivers is it.

Before the draft, I spoke about Joe Douglas needing to live up to his reputation as an offensive line guru. It’s one thing picking linemen in the first round, it’s another finding them on the scrap heap. Herbig was signed by the Eagles following the 2019 draft, and Joe Douglas joined the Jets in June of that year, so he would have been part of the team that signed Herbig in Philadelphia, obviously, it helps to have inside information.

Coach Saleh has been impressed with Herbig so far, speaking at the Miami game he said: "I felt like Herbig did such a good job last week," Saleh said after the 40-17 victory over Miami, the Jets' first AFC East win in 13 games. "I love his mentality and how he approaches the game. He's nasty. He's everything you want in an offensive lineman. He probably smells bad, too. I'm just kidding Herbie. It's more of a testament to Herbie and forcing his way onto the football field and playing our best five."

One thing Nate does bring is a little bit of nastiness and that resonates with the offensive linemen. Connor McGovern has been a big fan of his through the season with him saying: "Nasty Nate man, he brings a lot of attitude," McGovern said. "He's going to definitely go all the way to the whistle, if not a little bit past the whistle! He's a great dude. Great locker room guy. A lot of energy. He is really good at keeping it a little light. And he's a great addition. I've said it from the start, this room is a great room. Joe D. and Saleh building this offensive line room, it's been one of the best rooms I've been around talent-wise, personality-wise. And it's fun to go out and work really hard and reap the benefits with this group. It's a fun group."

Questions will be asked as to what the Jets do when all their linemen are healthy. If Nate continues to play to the standard he has been playing at, it will give the Jets something to think about. Could they potentially let George Fant his free agency and start AVT at right tackle with Herbig inside? That would leave Max Mitchell as a backup but I’m not sure that’s a bad thing at this point in his career. Nate is a free agent in the off-season and if he continues to play at the level he has been playing at, then there will be plenty of teams in the market for him.