The Pittsburgh Steelers will head into the season with more intrigue in their running back room than we’ve seen in previous years. Najee Harris is gone, Jaylen Warren is back, and the Steelers added two new faces in Kenneth Gainwell and rookie Kaleb Johnson. With each ticketed for sizeable roles this year, Gainwell likes what he’s seeing from Johnson in training camp.
“I love the way he carrying himself right now,” Gainwell told reporters Saturday before practice, per Steelers.com. “I think he just needs to continue to do his job each and every day. Come here, stay focused on his small details, just not let the outside get to him and just keep working.”
The Steelers’ backfield is much more versatile than we’ve seen in quite a while. Kaleb Johnson is the workhorse of the group. He’s coming off a 2024 season at Iowa that saw him carry the ball 240 times in 12 games and notch an impressive 6.4 yards per carry. Making things more impressive, Johnson was the only real threat on the Hawkeyes’ offense. His FBS-leading 1,537 rushing yards on the year came against a ton of stacked boxes.
In the passing game, he’s more of a work in progress. Johnson didn’t have to catch the ball or pass protect a ton at Iowa. It’s something he’s trying to figure out how to do in the NFL. Fortunately, he’s got two good veterans to learn from in that regard.
Jaylen Warren is a good example. He’s more of an elusive back and offers a lot in the passing game. He’s been helping Johnson, specifically in pass protection, after most practices. As for Gainwell, he’s much more versatile and has spent time out wide as a receiver. He’s one of the better route runners out of all NFL running backs and can help Johnson in that regard.
If Kaleb Johnson wants to be a three-down running back, he’s going to have to make himself useful on third down. That’s hard to do if you can’t catch the ball or pass protect. Yet, Johnson came to training camp to work, with even Mike Tomlin acknowledging the work ethic he’s seeing from the rookie. The Steelers expect Johnson to become their future workhorse. But he needs help from players like Warren and Gainwell to get there. Fortunately, it seems like they are doing just that.
