After four years leaning heavily on running back Najee Harris as the true No. 1, bell-cow running back, the Pittsburgh Steelers are in a transition phase at the running back position.
Harris is off to Los Angeles to play under Jim Harbaugh with the Chargers. The Steelers have brought in veteran running back Kenneth Gainwell in free agency and drafted Iowa running back Kaleb Johnson in the third round at No. 83 overall.
Jaylen Warren returns, too, giving the Steelers a familiar face at the position under offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. But the Steelers have to replace 299 touches and 569 snaps. Johnson will be key, but the Steelers’ running back room ranks among the league’s worst according to CBS Sports’ RB tiers.
In fact, CBS Sports’ Tyler Sullivan ranks the Steelers third in Tier Six among teams leaning on a Day 2 running back to headline them. CBS Sports also has only seven tiers ranked, so the Steelers are next to last and ranked 28th overall.
Not a great spot to be in, but things could be better once the season hits.
“In Pittsburgh, the Steelers let Najee Harris leave in free agency and Iowa back Kaleb Johnson in the third round to pair with Jaylen Warren,” Sullivan writes regarding the Steelers’ running backs room. “In his final collegiate season, Johnson rushed for 1,537 yards and 21 touchdowns and had drawn pre-draft comparisons to Atlanta’s Tyler Allgeier. If he became a comparable player, that’d be a solid addition to the backfield.
“Meanwhile, in 15 games played last season, Warren finished with 821 scrimmage yards, which was down from his 1,154-yard season in 2023.”
Adding Johnson to the mix was a great addition for the Steelers. They landed the Iowa standout who led the Big Ten in rushing in 2024 in the third round, well below where many projected him to be picked in the 2025 NFL Draft. The Steelers were fortunate to land him and now have a great fit for Smith’s zone scheme offensively, which could lead to a rather productive pairing over the next four years—or more.
Johnson flourished in a zone scheme at Iowa. He’s another big, physical running back that fits the mold well. Johnson was outstanding in 2024, rushing for 1,537 yards and 21 touchdowns on 240 carries. He also caught 22 passes for 188 yards and two touchdowns, showing he can do it all.
He turns 22 in August and has only had one year of a heavy workload, coming in 2024, so there is some concern there. However, outside of that, he fits the mold for the Steelers and feels like a perfect fit, which Smith called him following the selection during a session with the media.
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.
Warren has shown over the last few years that he can do it all for the Steelers, too, but due to his injury history, he’s not the type of guy who can handle a heavy workload. Having him as a change-of-pace with Johnson will be key for the Steelers.
Then, there’s Gainwell, who can be a third-down running back and brings some real juice to the room, too, which the Steelers know all about after watching him carve up the Steelers’ defense in Week 15 last season.
On paper, the RB room for the Steelers doesn’t look all that great, especially after losing Harris, nearly 300 touches, and more than 550 snaps. However, in the long run, the Steelers should be better for it in 2025 as Johnson is a great fit, and Warren and Gainwell can be dependable options to change things up, too.
