As it turns out, scouting a long snapper for his ability to make tackles in coverage is like scouting a pitcher for his power hitting: not very useful if he can’t do the most fundamental elements of his job well. Much has been made by some—like me, admittedly—about new Pittsburgh Steelers long snapper Christian Kuntz’s background as a linebacker, but that didn’t really have anything to do with his ability to beat out Kameron Canaday for the job.
He knows that. Special teams coordinator Danny Smith definitely knows that. When he was asked about what gave Kuntz the edge in the battle for the long snapper job, the only thing that he mentioned was the consistency of his snaps.