In terms of the 2025 NFL Draft, you’d be hard-pressed to discover a higher pairing than Iowa operating again Kaleb Johnson and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Main as much as the draft, Johnson was highlighted as an ideal match for the Steelers and offensive coordinator Arthur Smith’s speeding assault, which leans closely on zone ideas.
Then, the Steelers had been capable of land the standout operating again within the third spherical at No. 83 general, getting him a lot later than he was projected to go, touchdown nice worth on the place general. Because the conclusion of the draft, Johnson has been praised because the Steelers’ greatest decide.
Now, ESPN’s Louis Riddick is on that prepare, too. In a tweet Friday morning, Riddick highlighted Johnson because the one Steelers’ non-first-round draft decide who might be a “important contributor/starter” for them inside 2-3 years.
It’s not a shock that Johnson is getting a lot love and a spotlight after touchdown with the Steelers. Inside Smith’s zone speeding assault, Johnson ought to match seamlessly, contemplating that’s the identical scheme he performed in at Iowa, one by which he led the Massive Ten in speeding in 2024.
Kaleb Johnson was excellent in 2024, speeding for 1,537 yards and 21 touchdowns on 240 carries, main the Massive Ten in speeding by a large margin, too. He additionally caught 22 passes for 188 yards and two touchdowns, displaying he can do all of it.
Within the lead-up to the draft, Johnson was projected as a second-round decide and possible top-50 choice. That he fell to the Steelers at No. 83, particularly with them not having a second-round decide, was fairly thrilling. Now, he steps right into a operating again room with Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell, a room that wants a workhorse operating again after dropping Najee Harris in free company.
He’s one other huge, bodily operating again. On the 2025 NFL Scouting Mix, Johnson measured in at 6010, 224 kilos and ran a 4.57 40-yard sprint, stable numbers for his peak and weight. He additionally turns simply 22 in August and has solely had one yr of a heavy workload, so there may be some concern there. However outdoors of that, he suits the mould for the Steelers and appears like an ideal match, which Smith known as him throughout a session with the media final Friday night time.
With a necessity for a operating again to step up because the true No. 1 in Pittsburgh, there’s an actual alternative for Johnson to grab the position and run with it. He’s an important match for the scheme, is the large physique the Steelers are inclined to gravitate towards, and he has good pace and an explosive, dwelling run aspect to his sport, although he was clocked only a 4.57 within the 40.
That quantity didn’t concern Mike Tomlin and Omar Khan, and it shouldn’t concern Steelers followers.
Ideally, Johnson grabs maintain of the No. 1 position reasonably shortly as a rookie and takes off, settling in because the bell-cow operating again for the Steelers for Years 2 and three, giving Pittsburgh a dynamic participant on the place long-term.
