What’s a donut without a hole? A Danish. And what’s a punter without a coverage unit? Strudel. That’s the problem Pittsburgh has with new punter Cameron Johnston, an issue we’ve discussed several times already. With the preseason in the books, it’s worth taking one last review of an underlying problem. Pittsburgh’s poor punt coverage was an eyesore through their three exhibition games, and the numbers tell that story.
Johnston punted 16 times this summer. His gross average, the distance the ball travelled until it was downed or fielded, was good. A healthy 48.6 yards, which would easily be a Steelers’ record if that numbers holds over the course of a regular season, and the 10th-best figure around the NFL.
His net, the difference between where the ball landed to where it was returned, is a different story. It came in at just 38.4 yards, a 10.2-yard decrease compared to his gross. That ranked 23rd across the 29 qualified punters, a much worse standing. And it’s the number that matters. Punt teams aren’t measured in gross average. They’re measured in net. And Johnston had one of the worst discrepancies this summer.
Here’s the top-five largest differences between gross and net. The larger the number, the further away the net was from gross, and the uglier the number gets.
Biggest Gross/Net Discrepancies
1. Corey Bojorquez – 13.9 yards
2. Pressley Harvin III – 10.5 yards
3. Cameron Johnston – 10.2 yards
4. Jack Fox – 9.3 yards
5. Jack Camarda – 8.6 yards
Johnston had the third-worst delta of those 29 punters only trailing the Browns’ Corey Bojorquez and, funny enough, former Steelers’ punter Pressley Harvin III, filling in for San Francisco this summer. They, along with Johnston, were the only three punters with a net difference in double-digits.
Because all numbers are relative, here are the best/lowest differences between gross and net. I’ll just list the top three.
Smallest Gross/Net Discrepancies
1. Tommy Townsend – 2.4 yards
2. Logan Cooke – 2.6 yards
3. Jamie Gillian – 3.1 yards
Net yardage is often reflective of the coverage team but the punter influences this, too. His placement, accuracy, and hangtime all play roles. What is Johnston’s net in past years compared to 2024?
Johnston’s NFL Net Differences
2023 – 3.7 yards
2022 – 5.5 yards
2021 – 5.0 yards
2020 – 6.1 yards
2019 – 4.1 yards
2018 – 5.4 yards
His worst year came in 2020 at 6.1 yards, and last year, his net difference was only 3.7 yards, a career-best. Either number is still a far cry from this preseason.
Of course, context is important here. Sample sizes are much smaller, and the Steelers didn’t have their starting coverage unit out there for every punt. The same way a starting quarterback is more difficult to evaluate if the other 1’s aren’t out there. But this is a number that must be monitored with the team’s coverage team, especially their gunners, looking shaky. So far, Pittsburgh hasn’t added any outside help, and based on current roster construction, have CBs Darius Rush and Beanie Bishop Jr. along with WR Scotty Miller as their “best” options in those roles.
But Johnston can help himself. He can improve his hangtimes, which have never been his strong suit. His preseason hangtime was literally average, right in the middle of qualifying punters at 4.41 seconds. He had one touchback, which is semi in his control and greatly hurts net, and his placement can be better, too. His first punt of the summer, for example, didn’t go far enough to the left and was one reason why WR Dez Fitzpatrick, the gunner to the bottom, was so out of position. That created a crease on the return. Beanie Bishop, however, offered little help by missing a potential tackle.
I know I’ve spent a lot of time, maybe too much time, on the topic. But like anything else related to special teams, it’s often only noticed when things are going poorly. These discussions are to sound the alarm of what could be ahead for the Steelers once the regular season kicks off. Pittsburgh has a consistent big-legged punter but is in danger of giving it all back on the return.
While they have a handful of capable special teamers, guys like Miles Killebrew, Tyler Matakevich and Nick Herbig, gunners set the tone for the play. To force a fair catch, down a punt before it bounds into the end zone, slow up the return man and make him get horizontal, allowing the rest of the coverage team to catch-up. Until Pittsburgh finds two proven guys, the punt team might struggle.
