Player: P Cameron Johnston
Stock Value: Up
Reasoning: The Steelers paid up for a quality punter in Cameron Johnston, and by all accounts they should anticipate getting their money’s worth out of him. Even special teams coordinator Danny Smith talked about him being a significant upgrade over Pressley Harvin III. Of course, he will still have to prove it in the regular season, first.
The Steelers aren’t exactly synonymous with punter stability, though they had some to some degree with Jordan Berry. He wasn’t setting records, but he proved more consistent than his replacement. They just released that replacement, Pressley Harvin III, though, and signed an expensive replacement in Cameron Johnston.
Coming over from the Houston Texans, Johnston finished sixth in net average and percentage inside the 20 on his punts. In 13 games, he punted 66 times for 3,145 yards, averaging 47.7 yards. Minus 203 return yards, he posted a net of 43.7, with 45.5 punts pinned inside the 20. He was also one of nine punters with a touchback percentage below five, though that requires more context.
Now 32 years old, Johnston signed with the Steelers on a three-year, $9 million contract. To be there, that is a sizeable price tag for a punter, though not for an NFL player generally. But considering Pittsburgh’s recent punter history, that’s not too high a price to pay.
And that seems to have been the impression during OTAs. Although he was defensive of Harvin, special teams coordinator Danny Smith was clearly happy with Johnston. Harving was an intriguing project and challenge, but Johnston is the established, proven commodity.
One note is that Johnston is familiar with the process of changing teams, and he even played in the state. He spent his first three years with the Philadelphia Eagles, so I don’t think changing teams will be too hard.
I will also caution that Johnston’s numbers in Pittsburgh might not look the same as elsewhere, but that doesn’t mean he played worse. The Steelers have different preferences from most teams. They like their kickers to prioritize placement and hangtime over distance, so they sacrifice some real estate for more control.
As the season progresses, Steelers players’ stocks rise and fall. The nature of the evaluation differs with the time of year, with in-season considerations being more often short-term. Considerations in the offseason often have broader implications, particularly when players lose their jobs, or the team signs someone. This time of year is full of transactions, whether minor or major.
A bad game, a new contract, an injury, a promotion—any number of things affect a player’s value. Think of it as a stock on the market, based on speculation. You’ll feel better about a player after a good game, or worse after a bad one. Some stock updates are minor, while others are likely to be quite drastic, so bear in mind the degree. I’ll do my best to explain the nature of that in the reasoning section of each column.
