Steelers Now
Who is the Pittsburgh Steelers’ most pivotal rookie of the 2025 NFL season?
Several members of the Pittsburgh Steelers 2025 NFL Draft class have already been turning heads this summer, but one is believed to have a bigger impact on the team’s success this year than the rest.
Dan Parr of NFL.com named running back Kaleb Johnson as the Steelers’ most pivotal rookie of the 2025 NFL season.
“Aaron Rodgers is going to have a hard time maximizing his potential at 41 years old without the threat of a strong running game,” Parr wrote. “Jaylen Warren has yet to prove he’s capable of long-term bell-cow duty, leaving the door open for Johnson to claim the spot. Pittsburgh drafted him to be the quintessential one-cut runner who fights for the extra yards even though there’s not much razzle-dazzle to his game.”
Johnson failed to display any razzle-dazzle in Pittsburgh’s preseason opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars. He rushed for just 20 yards on eight carries (2.5 yards per carry), reeled in one catch for six yards and dropped another in the 31-25 win.
However, Johnson is confident he’ll soon make the plays he became accustomed to making at Iowa.
“I just wanted to get my feet wet and get a feel of the game. Everything’s faster,” Johnson said after the game. “Before the first game comes up, I’ll be all ready to go.”
Johnson is a bigger back, standing at 6-foot-1, 224 pounds, but he did put his speed on display last season when he reached 22 miles per hour per GPS measurements on field. That came during a breakout campaign, during which he rushed for 1,537 yards and 21 touchdowns and reeled in 22 catches for 188 yards and two more scores.
Only time will tell if he can have similar success at the next level, but the Steelers are surely hoping that is the case after using their third-round pick (No. 83 overall) in the 2025 NFL Draft on him.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Steelers Running Back Named Team’s Most Pivotal Rookie
