Steelers could look to kickstart special teams at NFL Draft

Coming off a season in which they each faced outsiders brought in to compete for their jobs, kicker Chris Boswell and punter Jordan Berry received financial votes of confidence from the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Boswell had his $2 million roster bonus picked up, and Berry received a two-year, $3.7 million contract on the dawn of free agency.

Boswell and Berry each are entering their fifth season with the Steelers, but despite the financial outlays from the organization, neither is guaranteed a roster spot when the season opens Sept. 8 in New England.

Armed with 10 picks heading into the NFL Draft, the Steelers conceivably could use one of those selections on a specialist even though they haven’t drafted a punter in 12 years and a kicker in 20.

Sound far-fetched? Consider this is the organization that used a sixth-round selection two years ago on a long snapper.

General manager Kevin Colbert said Boswell, who made only 13 of 20 field-goal attempts last season, will face competition in training camp. Matt McCrane, who replaced Boswell for the season finale against Cincinnati and made all three field-goal tries, remains on the roster, and Colbert didn’t rule out adding someone during or after the draft.

“Could we add another young player into that mix? Sure,” Colbert said in February. “There will be competition for Boz.”

In his first three seasons, Boswell made 89.5 percent of his field goals and missed just three extra points in 102 chances. The Steelers rewarded him with a five-year contract that included a $6 million signing bonus, and the $2 million roster bonus became guaranteed in March.

Boswell struggled from the outset, missing a potential overtime winner against Cleveland. His conversion rate on field goals dropped to 65 percent, he missed five extra points and the team’s lack of confidence reached the point where the Steelers brought in Kai Forbath and McCrane for tryouts in December.

Boswell kept his job, but he ended up on injured reserve for the season finale after a groin injury. McCrane was signed to a two-year deal, which provided some assurance his stay with the Steelers would last beyond the finale.

“We believe that Chris Boswell has the ability to do better than he did. He has already proven that,” Colbert said in February. “He set a standard for himself in 2017 as a Pro Bowl player, and last year, statistically, he was one of the worst kickers, and that’s a huge dropoff.

“As a young player, we also believe that he can find his way out of that, and we will support him in that attempt.”

Berry held off a challenge from Matt Wile, who was signed by the Minnesota Vikings, in the 2018 training camp. But after a poor showing from Berry through two games, the Steelers brought in a pair of punters for tryouts.

Although Berry’s career-low 38.8-yard net average ranked No. 27, and the Steelers allowed a higher punt return yardage average than any team, Berry was No. 10 with 28 punts downed inside the 20 and No. 4 with 25 fair catches induced.

The Steelers have drafted four punters in their history, starting with Craig Colquitt in 1978 and culminating with Daniel Sepulveda in 2007, coach Mike Tomlin’s first class. The Steelers thought enough of Sepulveda that they used a fourth-round pick on him.

As for kickers, the Steelers have drafted eight all time, beginning with Tom Miner in 1954. They used the final of three seventh-round picks in 1999 to take Kris Brown, four years after they used a seventh-rounder on Cole Ford.

Two kickers were drafted in 2018: Daniel Carlson by the Vikings in the fifth round and Jason Sanders by the Miami Dolphins in the seventh. Carlson was waived in September and latched on with the Oakland Raiders. Sanders made 18 of 20 field goals with the Dolphins.

“When you get to Day 3, I think that is the point in time you can go for it,” NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah said when asked about a team drafting a kicker.

Four punters were picked last year, including two in the fifth round.

“I would feel more comfortable in believing in a punter a little earlier,” Jeremiah said. “A placekicker, I don’t know, man. To me, I’ve seen it crash and burn, and I wouldn’t want to use a high resource on a placekicker. I’d rather draft one in the sixth or seventh round, bring in a free agent.”