The Pittsburgh Steelers might be 2-1 to kick off the 2025 season, but this is one of the more unimpressive 2-1 starts you'll see. The two wins were by inches against two bad teams in the New York Jets and New England Patriots, and the offense didn't look amazing when forced to drive the length of the field.
The running back room has been incredibly disappointing to this point, as the decision to part ways with Najee Harris led to the Steelers investing in a three-headed monster (sarcasm) of Jaylen Warren, Kenneth Gainwell, and third-round rookie Kaleb Johnson. All three of them have struggled to varying degrees, but Johnson has been the biggest offender.
Not only does Johnson have a nasty -1 yards on the season as a runner, but he made perhaps the biggest mistake of any Steelers player in the first few weeks thanks to his ill-fated kickoff mishap. After three grades, the Johnson pick has earned nothing less than a failing grade.
If the Steelers running back room is going to pick things up at all in the immediate future, it will hinge almost entirely on if Johnson can emerge as a viable performer.
Pittsburgh Steelers RB room hinges on Kaleb Johnson after slow start
Johnson's career is far from finished after just three games in the NFL, as we are not far removed from the former Iowa star looking like a powerful road-grader between the tackles that would fit in perfectly in Pittsburgh. However, he is clearly RB3 on the depth chart at the present moment.
Johnson may not be a great fit in this scheme, however. Between the fact that the offensive line is still a problem and Rodgers' insistence on operating a quick passing offense from shotgun on most snaps, a north-south runner without great speed like Johnson might find it difficult to get a full head of steam going.
The Steelers are not going to abandon ship on a player like Johnson unless he proves to be a Malachi Corley-like disaster from Rodgers' past stint with the Jets. Until then, however, Warren will need to run like prime Jerome Bettis for this unit to have much of a shot at doing anything.