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Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson picks up first-down yardage against the Cardinals on Sunday, Dec. 8, 2018, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
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Analysis: Steelers back on right foot, but special teams still have work to do

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Analysis: Steelers back on right foot, but special teams still have work to do

Doesn't it seem like years ago that major questions about Chris Boswell loomed over the 2019 football season?

OK, it doesn't help that St. Patrick’s Day also seems like years ago at this point of the COVID-19 pandemic, but nonetheless. The Steelers kicking game is in a good place again, and Boswell’s nightmarish 2018 looks more like a fluke than an omen.

Boswell rebounded to regain his place in the upper echelon of NFL kickers after drilling 29 of 31 field goals and making all 28 extra points. He didn't have any issues with the layups — Boswell was perfect inside of 40 yards — but they weren't all layups. Boswell was 9 of 10 between 40 and 49 yards, and 1 of 2 from beyond 50 (his two misses were from 44 and 54).

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Mike Tomlin was asked about Boswell throughout the preseason, but by the time his end-of-season news conference rolled around, there was no mention of his sixth-year kicker. Boswell, 29, appears to be in great position to remain with the Steelers for years to come, although his salary cap number will nearly double from 2020 to 2021. Reliable kicking is hard to find, though, so it’s probably worth keeping Boswell among the top 10 earners in the league.

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While that’s the most significant piece of the special teams puzzle when it comes to the fine line between winning and losing, the rest of the group has to be rebuilt heading into next season. On paper, the punting position is taken care of with Jordan Berry, but is it time to move on from the sixth-year veteran?

Unlike Boswell, Berry isn't paid like a top-10 option at his position, but even a middle-of-the-pack salary might not be worth Berry’s production at this point. To be fair, Berry beat out undrafted rookie Ian Berryman in training camp last year, but his 2019 was marred by a couple disastrous plays as well as a few shanks.

Of his two “rushing attempts” only one cost the Steelers in a loss, but both were head-scratchers. In the win at Arizona, Berry tried to run with a fake punt in the fourth quarter. He quickly got hammered on fourth-and-6 for a loss of 8, giving the Cardinals a short field on which they promptly scored a touchdown to cut their deficit to three. Tomlin took the blame, but Berry categorized it as a miscommunication after the rest of the punt team tried to check out of the call.

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Berry was back in the spotlight in a bad way later that month, in the season-ending loss at Baltimore. The Steelers had a slim chance of completing a comeback attempt, but backed up at their 5, Berry bobbled the snap, then recovered it only to fumble again into his end zone, where the Ravens jumped on it for a touchdown.

If that ends up being Berry’s final snap as a Steeler, it won't be a surprise. In Week 16 against the Jets, Berry had punts of 31 and 24 yards into New York territory. But neither of those were worse than Berry’s punt the previous week that traveled just 22 yards before landing at the Steelers 40 and setting up Buffalo’s first touchdown.

It’s almost certainly not worth the Steelers using a draft pick on a punter for the first time since Daniel Sepulveda in 2007, but they may need to bring in more or better competition for Berry, perhaps an experienced candidate rather than a rookie.

Replacing Berry should be simpler than replacing Tyler Matakevich, the team’s leading special teams tacklers all four years since he was drafted. Matakevich actually led the NFL in solo special teams tackles last season, so his departure will be felt in that phase much more than as a backup inside linebacker. Also gone from 2019 are receiver Johnny Holton, who made the team solely for his speed on kick and punt coverage, and linebacker Anthony Chickillo, both of whom played more than half the special teams snaps. Special teams captain Roosevelt Nix was cut, too, but missed almost the whole season with injuries anyway.

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The good news for the “core four” units is that reinforcements are in place, some new and some old. Safety Jordan Dangerfield, another productive special teams tackler, was brought back on a one-year deal. Linebacker Robert Spillane was a machine last year once he was put on the active roster, posting 10 special teams tackles in just eight games. And most of all, the Steelers acquired one of the best special teams aces in the league in fullback Derek Watt, who essentially fills the void of Matakevich.

But the Steelers will likely need to find a reliable contributor or two in their draft class, especially if Trey Edmunds gets squeezed out of the running back room. Fourth-rounder Benny Snell and sixth-rounder Ulysees Gilbert jumped right into the mix as rookies last year, and third-rounder Justin Layne entered the equation eventually, too.

Return options could change drastically between now and Week 1, depending on whether the Steelers draft a playmaker who can handle those duties or decide to go with someone already on the roster. Wide receiver Diontae Johnson was a second-team All-Pro as a punt returner, so he should continue there, but reserve running back Kerrith Whyte was returning kicks by the end of last season, and he’s far from a lock to make the cut in 2020. Ryan Switzer also returns from injured reserve.

To round it all out, no need to worry about the long-snapper position for another season. Kameron Canaday, who has held the role for the past three seasons since Greg Warren retired, re-signed for two more years in March.

Specialists

Chris Boswell

Year acquired: 2015, free agent

School: Rice

Contract status: Signed through 2022

• Jordan Berry

Year acquired: 2015, free agent

School: Eastern Kentucky

Contract status: Signed through 2020

Kameron Canaday

Year acquired: 2017, free agent

School: Portland State

Contract status: Signed through 2021

Top 5 kickers/punters according to ESPN.com

• Braden Mann, Texas A&M, punter

• Joseph Charlton, South Carolina, punter

• Alex Pechin, Bucknell, punter

• Michael Turk, Arizona State, punter

• Tyler Bass, Georgia Southern, kicker

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Brian Batko: bbatko@post-gazette.com and Twitter @BrianBatko.

First Published: April 10, 2020, 3:00 p.m.

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