Steelers Insider Not Convinced Pressley Harvin III Won't Return As Team's Punter In 2024

The Pittsburgh Steelers have more than a couple roster issues to address in the 2024 offseason. A lot of fans want to focus on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball, but special teams is a key area that is often forgotten. In recent seasons, punt blocking has been one of the unit's best contributions thanks to Miles Killebrew's savvy ability to change a game on the drop of a hat. Unfortunately, the punt team has suffered since 2021 when Pressley Harvin III was drafted. He has consistently ranked at the bottom of the league and, as the 2023 season ended, it seemed as if the team would have no choice than to move on from him.

Killebrew will be the first to credit special teams coach Danny Smith for how their relationship has developed, but it appears as if Smith hasn't done Harvin III many favors. He was nearly dead last in the NFL in terms of yards per punt in 2023 and his inconsistencies have been blatantly obvious since the Steelers selected him in the seventh round of the 2021 NFL Draft.

Steelers Moving On From Harvin III Not a Forgone Conclusion Entering 2024 Offseason

Harvin III had a long of 63 in his third season, the worst mark of any of his NFL years while he also had six touchbacks, the most in a single season throughout his career. He regressed and cost Pittsburgh several chances to win field position battles in key games. Despite this, Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette received a question in his weekly chat regarding the punter. A fan begged for Harvin III not to be on the team in 2024. Dulac wasn't so sure that will be the case.

"Well, I can't promise that..." Dulac wrote.

That will make any loyal Steelers fan cringe. It has been hard to watch Harvin III punt since he was drafted and it's even more difficult to believe that the organization drafted him, rather than waiting to see if he became available as an undrafted free agent. There shouldn't be a world in which he returns to the active roster in 2024, but apparently, the idea isn't as far-fetched as people think.

There was terrible weather during the Wild Card Round when the Steelers took on and lost to the Buffalo Bills, but the performance from Pittsburgh's punter should have sealed his fate for the future. Head Coach Mike Tomlin even remarked in his postseason press conference that Harvin III was not as consistent as he would have liked in the latter half of the season.

Special teams is an underrated and important aspect of football, especially at the professional level. Pittsburgh is lucky to have a nearly-automatic kicker in Chris Boswell. Unfortunately, poor punting in recent years has led to the defense's back being pinned up against a wall. They have a reputation for behind "bend, don't break," but one of the biggest reasons for that is due to the field position battle.

Championship-caliber teams succeed in all three phases of the game. Pittsburgh has drastically underperformed when it has come to punting since 2021. The worst case scenario is bringing in someone to compete with Harvin III and the 2021 seventh-rounder has another strong preseason, only to come up short and inconsistent when it really matters. Tomlin and Omar Khan have some serious discussions to have regarding the position.

Every offseason will entail a team's management going through the current players set to be on the roster the following year. There are glaring issues all over for the Steelers, but it would be coaching and managing malpractice to not consider a change at the punter position sooner rather than later for Pittsburgh. Three years should be enough to evaluate a player who has consistently been at the bottom of the league for his position.