There were 257 picks in the NFL Draft and Yahoo Sports analyst Matt Harmon’s favorite one was RB Kaleb Johnson to the Steelers. More specifically, Harmon was choosing what player-team fit was his favorite from the 2025 NFL Draft and quickly chose the Johnson-Pittsburgh pairing.
“I’ve been talking about [this] literally since the combine, let’s get this guy to the Pittsburgh Steelers,” said Harmon. “He’s a natural zone runner. They ran zone concepts at the second-highest rate… I think he’s just going to smash in this offense. It wouldn’t surprise me if he’s the second most productive rookie this year.”
That’s massive praise for the Steelers third-round running back out of Iowa, who Harmon thinks will only be outpaced by Ashton Jeanty.
Being a productive, workhorse back is nothing new to Johnson. He carried the entire Hawkeyes offense on his back in 2024. He led the Big Ten last season in rushing yards with 1,537, and touchdowns with 21, while averaging 128.1 yards per game. On top of that, Johnson proved he could be a featured back, logging 240 rushing attempts on the season, which was 11th in the nation.
As far as a fit, it’s hard to imagine much better. As Harmon eluded to, Johnson ran a very similar rushing concept in college, thriving off of wide-zone runs. His patience and burst play right into the scheme’s hand, something Arthur Smith will surely be excited about. Johnson also presents a perfect running mate with Jaylen Warren. Warren, a smaller, quick running back pairs nicely with the 6010, 224-pound Johnson.
Charles McDonald and Nate Tice, two other Yahoo Sports analysts, were also very complimentary of Johnson. In fact, McDonald went as far to compare him to former four-time Pro Bowler Arian Foster.
“I liked it a lot,” said McDonald. “When I watched him run, a lot of the outside zone stuff looked like Arian Foster just the way he glides, he’s a bigger back. Maybe not the fastest guy but sees it and sets it up well.”
Overall, the Yahoo Sports team seems to be pretty high on the Johnson signing, going as far to say that if Aaron Rodgers signs, Johnson and some of the other Steelers additions could make the team interesting.
