The Pittsburgh Steelers and Kenny Pickett are hoping to open up their window to be in contention for the Super Bowl in 2023 and there's one key position the team has to monitor carefully to make that jump. Pressley Harvin III has struggled with consistency issues in his two seasons in the league and with a young, developing offense, the team can't afford to hamstring the defense with poor field position.
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Steelers' Pressley Harvin III should face some competition for his roster spot.
Special teams in football are like goaltending in hockey. You don't worry when you have a goalie that's rolling and everything is going well, but the minute your goaltender starts to show leaks in the foundation, you have to start thinking about how to either get them back on track or pivot to a new option. The same should be true of punters. When a team has a good one, say for example four-time All-Pro man Johnny Hekker or the Tampa Bay Lightning's Andrei Vasilevskiy, fans or members of team management can relax more easily if they have a tough go because of their proven track records, but when a young inexperienced goalie or punter is struggling, the team should at least bring in options if they're trying to stay competitive.
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Cameron Nizialek landed with the XFL's Seattle Sea Dragons after losing the Steelers' punting job.
Last offseason, the Steelers brought in Cameron Nizialek who had played a few games for the Atlanta Falcons in 2021 to compete with Harvin who ultimately won the job.
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly With The Steelers' Punter
Photo Credit: Jordan Schofield/SteelerNation (@JSKO_PHOTO Twitter)
Steelers' Pressley Harvin kicking in training camp.
Former general manager Kevin Colbert selected Harvin in the seventh round in 2021 and the fact that he has started two seasons could be seen as a win, but the quality of those two seasons has left much to be desired. After a challenging rookie season on and off the field, the Georgia Tech alumnus managed to show some improvements in year two upping his net average by 3.1 yards and his career-long from 64 yards up to 69.
The Steelers and head coach Mike Tomlin held onto Jordan Berry from 2015-2021 while he put up a similar net yard average to Harvin's 2022 season. The one major difference between the two statically was Berry's ability to pin opponents deep. In 91 career games with Pittsburgh, per Pro Football Reference, he had a 40% rate of balls being downed inside the 20-yard line. This was one area in particular that Harvin struggled with in 2022 as his percentage dropped from 35.7% to 29%.
Harvin will be 25 in September and certainly has at times shown some of the potential that made him a draft pick instead of an unsigned free agent back in 2022. When the Steelers played the Falcons in Week 12, they needed their second-year punter to come through for them and he did. Hanging onto a 19-16 lead late in the fourth quarter, the offense managed to get up to the Atlanta 40-yard line, and Harvin put the ball perfectly just outside the endzone where Miles Boykin downed it. Minkah Fitzpatrick picked off Marcus Mariota's final throw of the game to secure the victory.
The other factor that could help Harvin keep his job is one of his other roles on special teams. Chris Boswell has developed a good comfort level with Harvin as a field goal holder. This shouldn't be a key factor in making the decision, but if it is a close competition between Harvin and another punter brought in during the offseason program, it could come into play.
Do you think the Steelers have a problem at the punter position? Would you be comfortable with Harvin returning as the starter? Comment below!
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