Former Pittsburgh Steelers RB Merril Hoge is a big fan of the newest Steelers running back, third-round pick Kaleb Johnson out of Iowa. Hoge is notoriously not a fan of the NFL Combine, and he downplayed Johnson’s pedestrian 4o-yard dash time.
“Kaleb Johnson, he’s really smooth, like he’s fluid, he’s a lot smoother and more fluid than you see a lot of runners. And he’s explosive. To your point, when you watch him on tape, he hits a seam, nobody catching him. That’s what I’m going by. Not what he ran a 40 in his underwear. I don’t care about that,” Hoge said Wednesday on the DVE Morning Show.
Johnson ran a 4.57 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine, but his play speed is faster than what he timed in Indianapolis. That’s why Arthur Smith praised Johnson’s explosiveness, and he adds an element with his ability to break off big runs that the Steelers have lacked in recent seasons.
Johnson had 21 runs of 20+ yards last season, and if he can show the ability to break off chunk runs and create explosion, he’s going to be very valuable to Pittsburgh’s offense. Athletic testing can be deceptive sometimes, and while it’s generally a good marker of where a player is, with a player like Johnson, his game speed is a lot faster than his 40. His time in Indianapolis may have been beneficial to the Steelers though, as it could’ve been a reason Johnson slid in the draft.
For much of the pre-draft process, he was widely expected to be a second-round pick, and despite coming in for a pre-draft visit with the Steelers, the expectation was that he would be gone by Pittsburgh’s second selection at No. 83 overall. But the run on running backs happened on Day 3 instead of Day 2 as many expected, and with Johnson on the board, the Steelers got a player who can really improve their run game and who fits really well in Arthur Smith’s zone scheme.
As a former running back himself, it’s promising to hear that Hoge likes what he sees from Johnson. The Steelers needed to upgrade at running back, and while Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell are both solid players, the room is exponentially better with Johnson added alongside those two. It’ll give the Steelers a balanced rushing attack with players who complement each other well, and Kaleb Johnson could wind up being an impact player right off the bat for the Steelers and prove that his 40-time wasn’t a reflection of his play speed.
