He has visions of winning the Offensive Rookie of the Year award, rushing for more than 1,000 yards, winning Super Bowls, and earning All-Pro accolades in the NFL. Good news for Pittsburgh Steelers’ rookie running back Kaleb Johnson: He’s stepping into a great situation in the Steel City.
Johnson, whom the Steelers drafted at No. 83 overall in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft out of Iowa, steps into a situation in Pittsburgh where the scheme is tailor-made for his strengths as a running back, and the playing time will be there as the Steelers lost Najee Harris in free agency this offseason, while Jaylen Warren and free agent signing Kenneth Gainwell are change-of-pace guys that won’t be asked to carry a heavy load.
Knowing all that, Johnson is one of the best fits of any rookie in the NFL Draft. For Pro Football Focus’ Trevor Sikkema, he is the best fit out of all the rookie running backs, as he gives the Steelers a deep running back room and is a great fit in offensive coordinator Arthur Smith’s zone rushing attack.
“The Steelers didn’t draft a quarterback until Will Howard in the sixth round, but they did make an offensive addition in running back Kaleb Johnson before then. His selection gives Pittsburgh a deep running back room, pairing him with Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell, and represents a good fit,” Sikkema writes regarding Johnson as the best rookie RB fit. “Under offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, the Steelers ran zone run-blocking schemes 58.32% of the time in 2024.
“That lines up well with Johnson’s skillset, as he earned an 82.6 PFF rushing grade behind zone concepts at Iowa last season.”
That’s been the general consensus with Johnson and the Steelers so far this offseason after the Steelers landed him in the third round, much later than many expected one of the best running backs in the draft class to go.
It’s not a surprise that Johnson is getting so much love and attention after landing with the Steelers. Within Smith’s zone rushing attack, Johnson should fit seamlessly, considering that’s the same scheme he played in at Iowa, one in which he led the Big Ten in rushing in 2024.
Johnson was outstanding for the Hawkeyes last season. On 240 carries, he rushed for 1,537 yards and 21 touchdowns, leading the Big Ten in rushing by a wide margin. He also caught 22 passes for 188 yards and two touchdowns, showing he can do it all.
He’s another big, physical running back. At the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine, Johnson measured in at 6010, 224 pounds and ran a 4.57 40-yard dash, solid numbers for his height and weight. He also turns just 22 in August and has only had one year of a heavy workload, so there is some concern there. But outside of that, he fits the mold for the Steelers and feels like a perfect fit, which Smith called him during a session with the media last Friday night.
With a need for a running back to step up as the true No. 1 in Pittsburgh, there’s a real opportunity for Johnson to seize the role and run with it. He’s a great fit for the scheme, is the big body the Steelers tend to gravitate toward, and he has good speed and an explosive, home run element to his game, even though he was clocked at just a 4.57 in the 40.
He’ll also get a chance to run Smith’s true zone scheme, too, something he didn’t do last season due to personnel in Year 1. That could lead to great production from the rookie and could give the Steelers a significant boost in the run game, taking the load off of the passing game, which has some uncertainty at the moment.
Having a deep running back room will help, too, as Kaleb Johnson, Warren, and Gainwell project as a rather solid trio on paper. This gives the Steelers a running back room they can lean on, both on the ground and in the passing game.
