The Pittsburgh Steelers have a lot of young pieces on their offense. One that came into his rookie season with high expectations was third-round running back Kaleb Johnson. Another was Roman Wilson, the Steelers’ third-round pick from 2024 who might has well have been a rookie after playing just a couple snaps in his first season.
So far, the Steelers are 3-1 without much to complain about. But neither Johnson nor Wilson have done much of anything to contribute on the field. Johnson has been the most notable, with his already small workload only being hurt more after his kickoff gaffe from earlier in the season. According to Steelers insider Mike DeFabo, the team might not be handling Johnson the right way.
“I know everyone’s furious at him, because he made that major blunder on a kick return,” DeFabo said Friday on 93.7 The Fan. “At the same time, you see every single other rookie running back is being productive… Not only that Kaleb Johnson was worthy of a third-round pick, but there was legitimate value in the third round by selecting him there. I feel like you have to work in these young guys. You have to develop them.”
It’s no surprise that Johnson lost his kick return duties after that blunder. But at this point, he’s not even a factor in the offense. He has eight carries on the year, but six of them came last week with Jaylen Warren being out. With Warren now back, Johnson’s not going to get a lot of looks behind Warren or Kenneth Gainwell.
At some point, the Steelers just have to give him a chance. When he was drafted, he was seen as a steal across the board, and plenty of preseason hype was piled upon him. However, he just isn’t getting opportunities. His eight carries haven’t been very impressive, but it’s impossible for a rookie to get into a rhythm when he’s getting the ball so sporadically. Mike Tomlin says he likes Johnson’s progress, but until he gets more carries when both Warren and Gainwell are healthy, it’s hard to see that amounting to anything.
Johnson isn’t the only youngster DeFabo thinks the Steelers are mishandling, though. He has similar qualms with Wilson.
“The only way you’re gonna develop a young player is to actually play him in meaningful games,” DeFabo said. “That’s the bottom line. And I think Roman had a pretty decent preseason… If you don’t have Calvin Austin, now should be the time that you give Roman Wilson a chance… I think the Steelers have fallen short with Broderick Jones, with Roman Wilson. And now I’m starting to be concerned it’s going to be the same thing with Kaleb Johnson as well.”
Wilson is possibly even more interesting of a case, mostly because he had a very solid preseason while Johnson’s wasn’t anything spectacular. Wilson made numerous big plays while running good routes, making things happen after the catch and finding ways to get open over the middle.
However, he only has one catch for seven yards on 44 total snaps.
It’s never as easy as just putting somebody in and expecting them to perform. But at some point, the Steelers need to get Wilson going. This would be an excellent week with Austin out of the picture, but the Steelers might be more willing to go with Skowronek and Scotty Miller, who understand the game better and could be more useful with Rodgers. Tomlin is optimistic about Wilson as well. But again, until we see it on the field, it doesn’t mean a lot.
There are reasons as to why it’s been tough to bring Kaleb Johnson and Roman Wilson along. But the bottom line is, the Steelers are getting no production out of either player. And there’s a very real chance they end the 2025 season with no impact from their third-round picks in both 2024 and 2025. That’s not great, to say the least.
