Steelers Now
After the Pittsburgh Steelers selected Iowa running back Kaleb Johnson with the No. 83 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, the expectation for some has been he would work in tandem with Jaylen Warren on early downs.
But how much of a time share will Johnson have, and how many carries will he get? Recently, Rotowire released rookie projections that included the former Hawkeye.
The current projections for Johnson are as follows:
Rushing
159 Carries
676 Yards (4.3 YPC)
5 Touchdowns
Receiving
24 Receptions
171 Yards
1 Touchdown
This projection provides an opportunity for the Steelers to be selective with his usage early on in Johnson’s career, and is assuming Warren is the lead back to replace Najee Harris.
“Generally you’ve got 500-plus carries in a regular season,” offensive coordinator Arthur Smith explained. “You’re talking about 1,100 snaps. You would like to be on the plus side of 500. That means you’re in more four-minute. Let’s leave it at 500 carries to divvy up. That’s kind of where you’re at. Then obviously losing Naj. Naj for four years here, he was very durable, and that’s a lot of missing carries. Then obviously we got some carries, especially early on of Justin (Fields).”
Harris led the team with 263 carries last season. Warren had 120 and Fields was third with 62. None of the Steelers expecting starting quarterbacks for 2025 are likely to run as much as Fields and Russell Wilson (43 carries) did in 2024, putting more of the ground game in the hands of the running backs.
“It’s just a really good fit,” Smith said. “Guys will roll, and there’s a lot of good group of guys we have in that running back room. We’re obviously excited. No matter if you are running the football or the pass game, we need to get more explosive, and this is an explosive runner, and that’s where he will certainly help.”
Many fans have watched Johnson’s highlights and perked up when the All-American confirmed who he modeled his game after: Le’Veon Bell.
Bell became the workhorse once he returned from injury in his rookie season. Nonetheless, his statistics weren’t too far off Johnson’s projections.
Rushing
244 Carries
860 Yards (3.5 YPC)
8 Touchdowns
Receiving
45 Receptions
399 Yards
0 Touchdowns
It is worth noting that these expectations are lofty. Before his 2018 holdout, Bell was on pace to be one of football’s most efficient backs ever. Najee Harris was hounded with these expectations and ultimately didn’t meet most of them.
Nonetheless, Johnson is in a good position to grow his game. He can learn from Warren and Kenneth Gainwell while getting in-game experience. Most importantly, he fits the mold of a runner Arthur Smith loves in a wide zone scheme.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Is Kaleb Johnson in Line for a Le’Veon Bell-Like Rookie Season?
