No one expected Pittsburgh Steelers third-round rookie Kaleb Johnson to struggle so much through his first few games. Sure, there was room for slow growth with Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell on the depth chart, but if I’d have told you in June that Johnson would have just eight offensive touches in three games heading into the BYE Week, you’d have laughed in my face.
But, as the Steelers head into their off week, Johnson remains at the bottom of the totem pole. Without Warren in the lineup in Week 3, Johnson had just six carries for 22 yards on just 11 offensive snaps while Gainwell racked up 99 yards and two scores on 19 carries.
But while that may seem like an underwhelming outcome on the surface for the rookie, the Steelers’ coaching staff is seemingly finding more faith in Johnson as the weeks move along.
Why Pittsburgh Steelers are confident Kaleb Johnson’s best football is ahead
Steelers running back coach Eddie Faulkner said on Tuesday he saw the signs in Johnson’s limited action last week that great things are on the horizon for the former Iowa Hawkeye.
"That was a big boost for him, that last drive that he was in,” Faulkner said, via 93.7 The Fan. “He was able to get a couple good runs in there that I could feel a little bit of some of the pressures that he had been feeling lifted off of his shoulders. So I expect him to just get better and better.”
That last drive for Johnson was Pittsburgh’s final scoring drive of the contest early in the fourth quarter. Johnson had runs of nine, six, three, and one yards, accounting for four of his six touches in the contest.
Following his special teams gaffe that effectively cost the Steelers their home opener against the Seattle Seahawks, it’s far from a surprise that the Pittsburgh coaching staff is taking things slowly with Johnson. He stepped into the returner role just to get touches, but he never looked comfortable, and his mistake only made matters worse.
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Still, it’s a good sign that he is slowly working in. Not every rookie needs to hit the ground running, and with Gainwell and Warren both contributing well, Pittsburgh doesn’t face as much pressure to force-feed him early on. Once Johnson gets to a place of comfort in his role and the wider scope of life in the NFL, hopefully, it is then that fans begin to see what made him such an intriguing prospect out of Iowa.
Of course, patience isn’t a virtue many in the NFL landscape subscribe to, including fans and disgruntled fantasy owners. But coaches have a closer view on the humane side of the sport, which includes recognizing that the rookie they invested in just isn’t quite ready. But Faulkner relaying the building confidence in Johnson is as good a sign as Steelers fans could really hope for.
As long as Johnson continues to make those steady improvements, his days of running the show out of the backfield in Pittsburgh draw closer and closer.