Now that the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2023 season is getting underway after the team finished above .500 but failing to make the postseason last year, we turn our attention to the next chapter of Steelers football and everything that entails. One thing that it means is that some stock evaluations are going to start taking on more specific contexts as we get into the season, reflecting more immediate plusses and minus rather than trends over long periods. The nature of the evaluation, whether short-term or long-term, will be noted in the reasoning section below.
Player: P Pressley Harvin III
Stock Value: Up
Reasoning: The third-year punter still faces some of the same issues that have been an all-too-significant part of his story since college, specifically with regard to inconsistency. But based on reports, he has been the more talented punter in camp and has gotten better each year—which is shockingly common for punters and kickers just as much as it is for every other position.
The Steelers wanted a training camp battle to challenge incumbent P Pressley Harvin III, and they’ve gotten one with veteran Braden Mann being brought in. But at least through the bulk of training camp, he seems to be holding his own and in the lead.
Now in his third season, Harvin did see significant progress from year one to year two, raising his net yardage from a woeful 38.0 as a rookie to a merely competent 41.1. Heh had more touchbacks and fewer punts downed inside the 20, but that is also reflective of the changes in offense—he worked with longer fields on average.
According to Alex Kozora, the battle has played out largely, I think, as many expected. Harvin has looked like the more talented punter on the whole, putting his name on most of the best-looking punts in all of camp with some of the best hangtimes. But he’s also had some of the uglier ones.
Mann might be more consistent but also offers less of a leg. The question is ultimately what your tolerance is for deviation and how much you expect Harvin to continue to get better. Truth be told, he really was not a bad punter in 2022, his reputation from his rookie season largely carrying over.
But as with many position battles, what happens inside stadiums is going to be huge. Mann can make up significant ground by having a strong preseason. Harvin could also hurt himself by shanking a punt or two, especially if one is in a critical spot in the game.
Jordan Berry unseated Brad Wing with a strong preseason. Harvin unseated Berry years later in the same fashion. But in Mann’s case, the fact that he already has an established NFL resume of three seasons’ worth of work may hurt him, because the Steelers already know who he is and what he will be. with Berry and Harvin, there was upside (and a trade in Wing’s case) as a part of that decision. You don’t keep Mann for upside.
