The Pittsburgh Steelers offense was stagnant yet again in a Week 7, 16-10 loss to the Miami Dolphins on Sunday evening. The team has many flaws and are far from being competitive in the AFC, but a key and underrated part of their efforts on Sundays have been inconsistent for years now. The organization attempted to change that by drafting Pressley Harvin III in the seventh round of the 2021 NFL draft, but he has been less than impressive since his NFL debut. He wasn't overly harmful to the team's chances against the Dolphins, but he didn't do them any favors in terms of field position, either.
Steelers punter Pressley Harvin III (#6) getting ready to punt during 2022 training camp at St. Vincent College in Latrobe, PA. | Jordan Schofield / SteelerNation (Twitter: @JSKO_PHOTO)
Heading into the matchup against Miami, Harvin III was the only punter in the league with 30 or more punts along with having an average of less than 45 yards per punt. Harvin averaged just 42.6 per kick a year ago and while he has had some monster boots in 2022, the consistency factor has simply not been there for him. He had a great 55-yard punt in the 4th quarter on Sunday night, but that shouldn't hold down his job security.
Even with the long punt, he still averaged just 41.8 yards per kick. Many thought that after his performance in last season's Wild Card game against the Kansas City Chiefs he would take that momentum into this year. He punted seven times for a total of 348 yards in that matchup and was one of the few bright spots of the 42-21 loss. However, he hasn't lived up to expectations overall and it should be time for General Manager, Omar Khan to take a look at options outside of the organization.
There are plenty of things to critique regarding Pittsburgh's play in 2022 as the team sits at 2-5 and the bottom of the AFC. Individually, many players and coaches deserve blame for a lackluster first half of the season. Harvin, however, is at the forefront of the list. The current offensive state of Mike Tomlin's squad can't afford to play the field position battle, especially versus stout offenses.
Former General Manager, Kevin Colbert took a relatively small risk taking a punter in the seventh round in 2021. Most players drafted that late don't even last past their first training camp let alone into the following season, but it isn't working for the Steelers. Harvin is statistically the worst punter in the NFL. Someone like Jordan Berry could easily come into the locker room and put up a better effort.
Releasing Harvin and bringing in a fresh (or familiar in Berry's case) face is not going to solve the team's issues on the offensive side of the ball, but if the 'standard is the standard' then the second-year player should not have a job if he is going to display mediocrity week in and week out. The franchise might as well give someone else a shot as they sit on a 2-5 record with the undefeated Philadelphia Eagles coming up. A different player deserves a chance. Harvin has muffed his.
Do you think that Pittsburgh should give up on Harvin and take a different direction at the punter position? Let us know in the comments below!
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