Steelers Need To Replace Chris Boswell On Kickoffs In Unique Move To Fix Coverage Unit

The Pittsburgh Steelers are doing well after the first half of the 2026 season, and the team is coming off of its bye week. Bye weeks are important as all of the players get a chance to get away from the game and get a little bit healthier, but the coaching staff also does a bit of self scouting. This allows the staff to fix some of the issues that have been plaguing the team, no matter how good the group's record is. The Steelers have struggled in a few areas, but special teams has been a blatant problem for the group heading into a critical stretch of games.

Kicker Chris Boswell has struggled a bit more than usual to begin the year, but the real problems for the Steelers on special teams are kickoffs and kick returns. The group has not been great in either area. The return game will hopefully improve following the bye week, while the coaching staff maybe got some ideas to improve the Steelers' kickoff coverage after watching the Week 9 games around the league.

The New York Jets decided to have fullback Andrew Beck takeover kickoff duties for the team, and this allowed the Jets to have an extra tackler on the field. New York had the same number of players on the field as usual, but Beck was given the green light to go and make a play on the returner. Kickers don't usually worry about making a tackle on these plays. The kickers cannot risk getting hurt, and they are usually much smaller than the other players on the field.

The Jets decided to do this after giving up a kickoff return touchdown in Week 9. The Steelers haven't allowed that to happen, but the group still hasn't looked great. This is something the Steelers can consider implementing, and the only player on the team with documented kicking experience is undrafted rookie defensive lineman Kevin Jobity Jr. This was mentioned in a mailbag on the team's site prior to the season beginning, where Bob Labriola was asked if Jobity could be the team's emergency kicker.

"As for Kevin Jobity Jr., I don't think he'll end up being active for many regular season games as a rookie unless there are injuries along the defensive line," Labriola wrote. "And if he's inactive for the game, he wouldn't be available to do any kicking."

Well, things have changed throughout the season, and injuries along the defensive line have made it so Jobity has been active. He even recorded a sack in Week 8 against the Cleveland Browns.

The extent of Jobity's kicking experience is unclear, but if he can kick the ball into the landing zone, this could be something for the coaching staff to consider. It isn't necessarily the exact position a team might want kicking off over a kicker. A safety, running back, or fullback might be more ideal due to the speed of the play. 

Steelers Have Seen Teams Around The League Do This Before

The Jets weren't the first team in history to opt to do this strategy on kickoff. Justin Reid has kicked off 17 times in his career, and not every time was to replace an injured kicker. He did this with the Kansas City Chiefs and the New Orleans Saints. Running back Dare Ogunbowale is another player that has kicked off before, as he did it six times with the Houston Texans back in 2023. It would be interesting to see Jobity in this situation, and it is something the Steelers could at least consider throughout the week of practice.

What do you think about the Steelers potentially trying this strategy? Let me know on X, @brogannoey!

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