
Draft Note by John Paulsen
The Steelers spent a third-round pick on Johnson, and while rookie running backs in this range often have limited Year 1 roles, there’s room for meaningful production. Since 2010, third-round backs who played at least 14 games have averaged 145 touches for 730 total yards and 4.8 touchdowns—a useful baseline for Johnson’s 2025 outlook. He’ll split time with Jaylen Warren, who averaged 10.5 touches per game last year behind Najee Harris (17.6). How much more the Steelers are willing to put on Warren’s plate will ultimately determine Johnson’s weekly fantasy value. He’s likely to handle goal-line duties, which gives him sneaky touchdown upside in what could be a more balanced, efficient offense under offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. Johnson was an instinctive zone runner in college and finished 15th out of 67 backs in PFF rush grade among those with 100+ carries. He’s also a capable pass-catcher (22 receptions, 188 yards, 2 TDs as a junior) and showed more functional quickness on tape than he did in Combine testing. If he carves out 10–12 touches per game with red zone work, he could be a flex-worthy option with upside in deeper formats. If he fully assumes Harris's role, then RB2 numbers are well within reach.
Kaleb Johnson
- RB
- , Pittsburgh Steelers
- 22
- 212 lbs
- 6' 0"
- Iowa
- 68
- 2
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Draft note
The Steelers spent a third-round pick on Johnson, and while rookie running backs in this range often have limited Year 1 roles, there’s room for meaningful production. Since 2010, third-round backs who played at least 14 games have averaged 145 touches for 730 total yards and 4.8 touchdowns—a useful baseline for Johnson’s 2025 outlook. He’ll split time with Jaylen Warren, who averaged 10.5 touches per game last year behind Najee Harris (17.6). How much more the Steelers are willing to put on Warren’s plate will ultimately determine Johnson’s weekly fantasy value. He’s likely to handle goal-line duties, which gives him sneaky touchdown upside in what could be a more balanced, efficient offense under offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. Johnson was an instinctive zone runner in college and finished 15th out of 67 backs in PFF rush grade among those with 100+ carries. He’s also a capable pass-catcher (22 receptions, 188 yards, 2 TDs as a junior) and showed more functional quickness on tape than he did in Combine testing. If he carves out 10–12 touches per game with red zone work, he could be a flex-worthy option with upside in deeper formats. If he fully assumes Harris's role, then RB2 numbers are well within reach.
Scouting report
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2025 Strength of Schedule - PIT
W1 | W2 | W3 | W4 | W5 | W6 | W7 | W8 | W9 | W10 | W11 | W12 | W13 | W14 | W15 | W16 | W17 | W18 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
12 @NYJ | 15 SEA | 29 @NE | 3 MIN | BYE | 7 CLE | 21 @CIN | 14 GB | 23 IND | 8 @LAC | 21 CIN | 25 @CHI | 27 BUF | 10 @BAL | 16 MIA | 5 @DET | 7 @CLE | 10 BAL |
Schedule difficulty based on schedule-adjusted, positional defensive ranking. Top DEF = 1, bottom DEF = 32.