The Pittsburgh Steelers are trading running back Kaleb Johnson to the Green Bay Packers on roster-cut day, ending his stay in Pittsburgh barely a year after Omar Khan spent the No. 83 pick on him.
Johnson’s exit isn’t exactly coming out of nowhere. Still Curtain had already detailed how the Rico Dowdle signing put Johnson on notice, and his grip on a roster spot only weakened as the summer went on.
Ari Merov reported the trade Sunday. In return for Johnson, the Steelers get Green Bay's sixth-round pick in the 2028 NFL Draft, per Penn Live's Nick Farabaugh. The Packers add backfield insurance while Josh Jacobs’ availability remains uncertain amid his off-the-field situation. For Pittsburgh, the concern is how fast another Khan draft investment fizzled out.
Kaleb Johnson trade puts another Omar Khan draft miss on the board
Trading Johnson is defensible. Drafting him in the third round and getting one forgettable season before moving on is an issue.
Then Saturday gave Khan another draft miss to explain. Pittsburgh traded Broderick Jones to the Dallas Cowboys, sending the former No. 14 overall pick and a 2027 fourth-rounder for Dallas’ 2027 third- and sixth-round picks. Still Curtain had already explained why the Broderick Jones experiment looked finished. The Steelers finally decided it was time to pull the plug.
So, in roughly 24 hours, Khan moved on from a 2023 first-round pick and a 2025 third-round pick. That’s not enough to bury his entire résumé. Khan has made smart trades, and his best draft work remains the 2023 draft class, which produced Joey Porter Jr., Keeanu Benton, Darnell Washington and Nick Herbig. That group gave Pittsburgh multiple core contributors and is a pretty convincing reminder that Khan’s draft record isn’t all misses. But two recent premium picks washing out this quickly is still enough to leave a mark.
Johnson’s exit also shows how quickly draft status expires when a new coaching staff has no reason to protect the investment. Mike McCarthy inherited Johnson, watched a player with limited special teams utility fight for RB3 snaps, and apparently decided there was no point in carrying a developmental runner behind Warren and Dowdle.
Pittsburgh deserves some credit for getting something instead of simply cutting Johnson before the 6 p.m. deadline. Salvaging value beats stubbornly keeping a bad fit almost any day.
The Steelers were right to cut their losses, but Khan also has to own how quickly those losses piled up.
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