The Pittsburgh Steelers came into the 2025 season needing to replace the production that Najee Harris gave them over the past four seasons. Despite being considered a disappointment thanks to his first-round draft status, there is no denying that Harris was a consistent and productive player for the Steelers.
His running mate, Jaylen Warren, was extended this offseason, but he has always thrived as being a change-of-pace back. To help keep him fresh, the Steelers drafted Iowa's Kaleb Johnson presumably to try and replace Harris' role as the primary rusher.
Instead, Johnson has barely seen the field this season. It's been a combination of Warren and surprise breakout Kenneth Gainwell leading the charge, and it's been tough sledding overall for the Pittsburgh rushing attack.
It would be one thing if they were having a ton of success, but they rank 28th in both total yards and yards per attempt this season. That begs the question; is it head coach Mike Tomlin's distrust of rookies keeping him on the bench, or did general manager Omar Khan whiff badly?
Omar Khan may have missed on Pittsburgh Steelers running back Kaleb Johnson
It's hard to make any definitive conclusions about Johnson at this point, but the early returns are disappointing to say the least. He has yet to receive more than six carries in any game this season, and he has just 78 yards from scrimmage on the season. He is averaging just 2.5 yards per carry, but the sample size (28 carries) is incredibly small.
He often is given just a carry or two a game, and it's usually when the game is already all but over. He has even been inactive at times this season, something you never want to see for a rookie running back drafted as highly as he was.
His lack of playing time is even more confusing when you go back to his prospect profile coming out of Iowa. He was one of the best wide-zone runners in college football in 2024, which should make him a perfect fit for offensive coordinator Arthur Smith's preferred running style. That's a big reason why many analysts loved the selection when it was made.
Instead, he has remained an afterthought in the offense despite Pittsburgh's rushing attack struggling more often than not. As much as I want to believe that Johnson is just being brought along slowly (like most Steelers rookie's tend to be), running back is not a position where that often happens. Warren himself played a significant role as an underafted rookie just a few years ago, for example.
Until we see him get a real chance to show what he can do, we may never know whether he is holding himself back or if the team is. For now, though, this is one pick Khan may wish he had back.