It’s not the official All-Pro team, that won’t come for a little bit, but Pittsburgh Steelers K Chris Boswell was named to the NFL.com NextGenStats All-Pro squad. A well-deserved honor for one of the best performances in kicking history, Boswell received his due as part of the 2024 group.
“His 24.8 expected points added on field goals — five-plus points more than the next-closest kicker — is largely due to his accuracy in clutch moments, as he nailed 18 of 20 lead-changing field goals for 11.3 EPA on those high-stakes attempts.”
By any metric, simple or advanced, Boswell was the NFL’s best. He led the league with 41 field goals and didn’t benefit from a slew of “chip shots” either. He made 13-of-15 kicks from at least 50 yards and 7-of-8 from 40-49, making him an 87-percent kicker from range.
Even his misses come with caveats. One of his kicks was blocked through no fault of his own while his longest misses were forgivable; 58 yards in windy Cleveland and 62 yards to close out the first half against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Surprisingly, Boswell was the only Steeler on the list. Neither EDGE T.J. Watt nor DT Cam Heyward made the cut. Watt lost out to AFC North edge rushers Myles Garrett and Trey Hendrickson. Heyward came in behind Chris Jones and Zach Allen.
While Boswell earned recognition here, there’s an open question if he’ll make the Associated Press’ All-Pro first-team squad. He should finish no worse than second team but is competing with the Dallas Cowboys’ Brandon Aubrey for the first-team position. Boswell has a better resume, but Aubrey received the first-team nod last year and much like offensive linemen, specialists tend to remain in pole position until injuries or objectively poor play pushes them out.
No Steelers kicker has ever been named All-Pro, not even to the silver medal second team. Even Pro Bowlers are few and far between. Since the merger, it’s happened seven times. Roy Gerela did it twice in the 1970s, Gary Anderson twice in the 1980s and once in 1993 while Boswell has only made it twice, 2017 and one of four Steelers this season.
Boswell should become their first All-Pro. Hopefully that matches a first-place honor and reflects what NextGenStats selected.
