It appears Iowa RB Kaleb Johnson is in Pittsburgh for a pre-draft visit, Johnson posted a picture of a leather chair emblazoned with a Steelers logo at what appears to be the team facility on his Instagram story.
Texas WR Matthew Golden posted a picture from Pittsburgh last night before a pre-draft visit, and with the NFL owners meetings wrapping up and team personnel back in Pittsburgh, it’s an important time for draft prep, and visitors were expected today.
Johnson ran the ball 240 times for 1,537 yards and 21 touchdowns last season. He measured in at 6010 and 224 pounds at the Combine and ran a 4.57 40-yard dash. He’s expected to be drafted in the second wave of running backs after Ashton Jeanty and Omarion Hampton, and he could be in play early on Day 2. He had a pre-draft visit with the Denver Broncos yesterday.
With the Steelers having a need at running back following Najee Harris’ departure, they have looked heavily at the position during the pre-draft process. If Kaleb Johnson is indeed in for a pre-draft visit, he would be the sixth running back the team has hosted or will host, along with Kansas State’s DJ Giddens, Virginia Tech’s Bhayshul Tuten, Tennessee’s Dylan Sampson, Oklahoma State’s Ollie Gordon II and Texas’ Jaydon Blue.
The Steelers also had a formal meeting with Johnson at the Combine, as they did with Giddens, Gordon and Blue, so they’re getting a good look and really getting to know some of these running backs.
While the Steelers brought back Jaylen Warren and signed Kenneth Gainwell, adding another running back through the draft is a priority. It’s a deep draft class with plenty of talented running backs, and Johnson is one of the best in the class. In Bob McGinn’s position-by-position draft series for Go Long, Johnson is ranked as the fourth-best running back and was praised by scouts for his explosiveness and ability to break off chunk runs.
In Jonathan Heitritter’s scouting report, he compared Johnson to former Chargers RB Melvin Gordon III and gave him a Day 2 projection with a second-round grade.
The full list of pre-draft visitors today should come out later today, and it’s likely that we’ll see Johnson’s name on it.
