After signing veteran Trey Sermon, the Pittsburgh Steelers came away from rookie minicamp with more running back depth. But it’s hard to argue that rookie Kaleb Johnson didn’t garner most of the attention in the Steelers backfield during the rookie workouts.
Johnson turned heads with his performance on the field and then comments off of it over the weekend.
“At rookie minicamp last Friday, he was the first guy that stood out to me,” The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Ray Fittipaldo said on 93.7 The Fan on Wednesday, via Steelers Depot’s Alex Kozora. “I saw him going through drills. He was all rocked up.
“I’m like, ‘Okay, give me the roster. He’s No. 20.’ And it was Kaleb Johnson. He looks every bit the part of an NFL football player.”
The Steelers selected Johnson at No. 83 overall during the third round in the 2025 NFL Draft. But Fittipaldo argued Johnson isn’t the typical third-round pick.
“There’s a reason they went out and got Kaleb Johnson in the third round,” Fittipaldo added. “They had him higher than a third-round pick. They were surprised when he was still there.
“So, they’re excited about him.”
Steelers’ Kaleb Johnson Worked on Biggest Weakness at Rookie Minicamp
Although Johnson impressed from a physical standpoint, the running back isn’t taking his technique for granted. That’s particularly true in pass protection.
Johnson was honest with the media during Pittsburgh’s rookie minicamp, telling reporters his biggest area for improvement was pass protection.
“Pass blocking — that’s my main thing. That’s what I want to work on. I’m going to work on it every day,” Johnson told reporters, via Penn Live’s Nick Farabaugh. “After practice, just going over there with the bag right there and hitting it with Coach Faulkner. Just learning, and learning from [Jaylen] Warren, too, because he’s one of the best dudes in the league right now.
“I told him let’s do it. Let’s work after every practice and do it. He’s with it, and I’m down to go.”
After those comments, Steelers reporters at the team’s rookie minicamp appeared glued to Johnson’s pass-blocking drills. Farabaugh wrote Tuesday the team’s running backs “worked tirelessly” in the pass protection drills Saturday.
Because Johnson needs more development in pass protection, Farabaugh expects veteran Jaylen Warren to take most of the backfield snaps in passing situations. Johnson, though, could receive a bulk of the backfield snaps on early downs for the Steelers offense in 2025.
Johnson Sets High NFL Goals
The third-round running back isn’t only focused on pass protection. Johnson has lofty individual and team goals with the Steelers.
There will be no learning curve to Johnson’s goals either. They will begin in Week 1 of his rookie campaign.
“Najee (Harris) had 1,000 yards all four years,” Johnson said, via The Athletic’s Mike DeFabo. “I want to be next up. I want to come in, (and) I want to get more.
“Win Super Bowls. Rookie of the Year. All-Pro. I want to do all of that. I feel like they can support me here, and I can do it.”
Najee Harris posted 1,200 rushing yards along with 74 receptions and 467 receiving yards as a rookie. Those remain career highs for the 27-year-old.
The Steelers would likely be ecstatic to get that kind of production from Johnson in 2025. But to win the Offensive Rookie of the Year award, Johnson will likely need to do a lot more.
Saquon Barkley is the most recent running back to win the Offensive Rookie of the Year award in 2018. That season, Barkley registered 1,307 rushing yards and led the NFL with 2,028 yards from scrimmage.
To have the pass-catching opportunities, Johnson will have to greatly improve in pass protection this summer.
Not that the Steelers don’t like Johnson, but the likely has lower expectations for the rookie running back. A 1,000-yard rushing season with more efficiency than Harris offered would be a significant contribution from the rookie.
