If you are a fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ tradition of big-bodied running backs, then you will love their third-round pick of Iowa RB Kaleb Johnson. At 6010 and 224 pounds, he is another in a long line of bully-ball running backs in Pittsburgh. NFL Network’s Brian Baldinger thinks he is a throwback to the good old days.
“You could watch this stuff in black and white,” Baldinger said Friday night in a clip on X. “It’s old-school football. He’s got a good feel for it, good feel for [where] the creases are, where the daylight is, and constantly making big runs. Steelers got themselves a back.”
Check out Baldinger’s video breakdown below with clips of Johnson’s play.
On paper, Johnson’s 4.57-second 40-yard dash is underwhelming, but he has strong burst and vision. Arthur Smith called him one of the most instinctive backs he’s watched coming out of the draft in a couple years.
“Not lightning fast, but fast in how you have to be fast,” Baldinger said. “He’s not gonna hit 50-yard touchdown runs, but he’s gonna be excellent because of his power and his consistency.”
I am not comparing him to Derrick Henry, but he ran a 4.54-second 40-yard dash coming out of Alabama. Straight-line speed is not the only indicator of success. Running with power, vision, and agility are much more important and Johnson has all of those in droves.
Iowa’s football program relies heavily on the run and Johnson faced heavily stacked boxes in 2024 all season. He still managed to put up 1,537 rushing yards and 23 total touchdowns on his way to being a consensus All-American.
This clip below is exactly the type of play that Johnson is capable of making. He shows vision, power, contact balance, and deceptive speed to shed multiple tacklers and break into the open field for a touchdown.
People are naturally going to compare him to Najee Harris. While there are some similarities, Johnson has noticeably more burst.
After Omarion Hampton and Ashton Jeanty, Johnson was my favorite back in the draft and the Steelers managed to get him while staying put at No. 83.
