In his second game, new punter Cameron Johnston already set a record. At least, what would have been a record if this was the regular season. But even if preseason stats don’t count, Johnston sure passed the eye test.
In Saturday’s preseason contest against the Buffalo Bills, Johnston punted five times and averaged 56.8 yards per boot. Three of his five kicks travelled 61-plus yards, his longest a booming 65-yarder. Had he registered that stat line in regular season action, it would’ve been the best average by a Steelers’ punter in team history, of those who punted at least five times in a game. Considering that’s happened 602 times in Pittsburgh history, there’s a large sample size to consider.
Pretending that Johnston’s numbers would go down in the record books, here’s what the top-five would look like.
Highest Single-Game Punting Average, Steelers History (Minimum Five Punts)
1. Cameron Johnston – 56.8 yards (2024)
2. Josh Miller – 56.0 yards (1999)
3. Jeremy Kapinos – 54.0 yards (2011)
4. Pressley Harvin III – 53.8 yards (2023)
5. Pat Brady – 53.0 yards (1953)
Even if you reduce the punt minimum to just two, Johnston’s figure still would’ve been fifth.
It’s a reminder why Johnston could be among the most impactful offseason acquisitions. We ranked it as GM Omar Khan’s second-best move of the offseason, only behind the excellent draft haul he picked in April. A consistent, impact punter capable of flipping the field. My only concern about his game were some less-than-stellar hangtimes, perhaps in part due to the shorter Aussie stroke he uses to punt with. But against the Bills, per PFF, his hangtime averaged a solid 4.63 seconds.
Pittsburgh’s had mediocre to terrible punting for years. Harvin was a roller coaster in all the worst ways, games like the one listed above that put him high on this. But he was just as prone to a miserable performance or critical shank late. Before him, there was Jordan Berry, an average punter but nothing more for the duration of his Steelers’ career.
Johnston will be the best punter Pittsburgh’s had in years. Maybe ever. And he could break the Steelers 60-plus year record of Bobby Joe Greene’s 47.0-yard average for the 1961 season.
There’s only two concerns here. Johnston’s big leg creates more runway for the returner, threatening net yardage and forcing the coverage team to be strong. So far, they’ve been shaky, and Pittsburgh’s made little headway finding two clear starting gunners to replace James Pierre and Miles Boykin, last year’s pair.
The other, more obvious problem, is Pittsburgh leaning on Johnston so much. The more five-punt performances he has during the season, the worse that is for the offense and the team. But there’s comfort in knowing in games and moments where he’s needed, Johnston can answer the call.
