There are some concerns centering on running back Kaleb Johnson entering the Pittsburgh Steelers’ second preseason game, especially after he had some struggles in his debut.
But head coach Mike Tomlin expressed no real concerns about the rookie while looking ahead to Saturday’s second preseason matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Acrisure Stadium.
“I just want to see him trust himself more,” Tomlin said of Johnson, according to video via Steelers.com. “I want to see him play more instinctually, trust his talents, and that’s reasonable to expect between the first experience and the second experience.”
In his first NFL experience last Saturday in Jacksonville, Johnson had a couple of good moments. One included the third-round pick stepping through a tackle attempt in the open field from Jaguars cornerback Travis Hunter. It made for a great photo and it was a nice play to clip.
Johnson also had a nice short-yardage conversion early in the game, putting his head down and barreling forward. But he was stopped in short yardage later in the first half, and just looked a step slow and hesitant at times.
Johnson managed just 20 yards on eight carries in his preseason debut and added one catch for six yards. He had a drop as well, and didn’t release in time in pass protection to provide an outlet for quarterback Mason Rudolph, leading to a sack.
It’s possible the game was moving too fast for the Iowa product, and that’s to be expected for a player in his first NFL action. The speed of the game in training camp is one thing compared to the speed of the game inside a stadium.
Johnson’s struggles were somewhat concerning. Former NFL GM Doug Whaley questioned if the speed of the game was too fast for him. ESPN’s Brooke Pryor said it was like watching Najee Harris again in the backfield, while NFL Draft analyst Chad Reuter raised concerns about the elusiveness and explosion from Johnson.
Fortunately, he gets another bite at the apple, not only in Thursday’s joint practice session against the Buccaneers, but also against them on Saturday night at home. Hopefully he can show signs of growth and alleviate some of the concerns centered on him right now.
