The Pittsburgh Steelers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers just finished up a hard-fought preseason battle, with the Steelers coming up just short, 17-14. It's always disappointing to lose, even if it doesn't count in the standings, but this game was more about evaluating where the team's top rookies and depth players are with just weeks before the regular season.
For rookie third-round pick Kaleb Johnson, it's clear that he still has to earn the trust of the coaching staff before he gets a sizable workload. Even with starting running back Jaylen Warren being held out once again, it was free-agent pickup Kenneth Gainwell who started the game next to Mason Rudolph.
Gainwell only played briefly before giving way to Johnson, but the fact that he once again started the game as the backup shows that he still has to clean up aspects of his game before he earns a significant role in this offense.
Pittsburgh Steelers need Kaleb Johnson to continue improving as the regular season nears
To his credit, Johnson was much more efficient in his second game as a pro. After a disappointing 20 yards on eight carries against the Jaguars, he racked up 50 yards on just 11 carries. He even had a nice catch on an improvised play from Skylar Thompson.
Despite the strong numbers, there are clear areas of the Iowa product's game that still need improvement if he is going to see significant snaps early. With an aging quarterback in Aaron Rodgers, now the Steelers' starter, being able to pass protect and being a reliable outlet in the passing game is a must.
We all know Jaylen Warren can do that, and Gainwell is a serious threat as a receiver. Johnson is still developing in those key areas, and it could limit him to being just a first and second-down bruiser early in his career.
Even in that role, he needs to show better contact balance and vision than he has through two preseason games. Too many times, it felt like he went down too easily or tried to bounce runs outside when he had no hope of beating a defender to the edge.
At the end of the day, Johnson still showed plenty of his strengths against the Buccaneers. How big his role will be to start his rookie season is still to be determined, but don't be surprised if he joins the long list of Steelers' rookies who have to wait a while before getting major snaps.