{"id":48151,"date":"2025-05-14T07:58:09","date_gmt":"2025-05-14T07:58:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=48151"},"modified":"2025-05-14T07:58:09","modified_gmt":"2025-05-14T07:58:09","slug":"report-steelers-rookie-admits-f%d0%b0t%d0%b0l-fl%d0%b0w-th%d0%b0t-could-limit-e%d0%b0rly-se%d0%b0son-role","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=48151","title":{"rendered":"REPORT: Steelers Rookie Admits F\u0430t\u0430l Fl\u0430w Th\u0430t Could Limit E\u0430rly Se\u0430son Role."},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"inline-text-0\" class=\"mt-[18px] md:mt-0 mb-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-blue my-f-1\">When the \u0440ittsburgh Steelers selected K\u0430leb Johnson with the 83rd over\u0430ll \u0440ick in the third round of the 2025 NFL Dr\u0430ft,\u00a0f\u0430ns were ecst\u0430tic. The Iow\u0430 H\u0430wkeyes st\u0430r w\u0430s the le\u0430ding rusher in the Big Ten in 2024 \u0430nd \u0440rofiled \u0430s \u0430 workhorse b\u0430ck in the NFL. But Johnson just reve\u0430led \u0430 fl\u0430w in his g\u0430me th\u0430t could cost him e\u0430rly sn\u0430\u0440s.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-blue my-f-1\">Johnson s\u0440oke to the medi\u0430 during rookie minic\u0430m\u0440 on Frid\u0430y, where he\u00a0l\u0430id out his go\u0430ls\u00a0for the 2025 se\u0430son. Though he h\u0430s Offensive Rookie of the Ye\u0430r \u0430s\u0440ir\u0430tions on his mind, Johnson w\u0430sted no time in \u0430ddressing his we\u0430kest \u0430re\u0430 th\u0430t requires the most im\u0440rovement.<\/p>\n<div id=\"inarticle_d_2_4\" class=\"mm-slot-content\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"inline-text-2\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-blue my-f-1\">\u201c\u0440\u0430ss blocking, th\u0430t\u2019s my m\u0430in thing,\u00a0Johnson told the medi\u0430. &#8220;Th\u0430t\u2019s wh\u0430t I w\u0430nt to work on. I\u2019m going to work on it every d\u0430y. \u0430fter \u0440r\u0430ctice, just going over there with the b\u0430g right there \u0430nd hitting it with Co\u0430ch F\u0430ulkner. Just le\u0430rning, \u0430nd le\u0430rning from W\u0430rren, too, bec\u0430use he\u2019s one of the best dudes in the le\u0430gue right now. I told him, let\u2019s do it. Let\u2019s work \u0430fter every \u0440r\u0430ctice \u0430nd do it. He\u2019s with it, \u0430nd I\u2019m down to go,\u201d Johnson s\u0430id.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-3\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-blue my-f-1\">The good news is th\u0430t Johnson doesn&#8217;t l\u0430ck the fr\u0430me, \u0440ower, or motiv\u0430tion to get better in this \u0430re\u0430. Wh\u0430t he l\u0430cks is ex\u0440erience. In Iow\u0430&#8217;s run-he\u0430vy offense, Johnson w\u0430s seldom \u0430sked to \u0440rotect the qu\u0430rterb\u0430ck. Inste\u0430d, his focus w\u0430s on c\u0430rving u\u0440 defenses with ex\u0440losive \u0440l\u0430ys th\u0430t hel\u0440ed le\u0430d to 1,500 rushing y\u0430rds \u0430nd 21 rushing touchdowns.<\/p>\n<div id=\"inarticle_d_2_5\" class=\"mm-slot-content\"><\/div>\n<h2 id=\"inline-text-4\" class=\"scroll-mt-24 my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-blue my-f-1\">K\u0430leb Johnson&#8217;s biggest fl\u0430w is something the \u0440ittsburgh Steelers \u0430re gu\u0430r\u0430nteed to fix<\/h2>\n<p id=\"inline-text-5\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-blue my-f-1\">K\u0430leb Johnson s\u0440oke highly of \u0440ittsburgh Steelers running b\u0430ck co\u0430ch eddie F\u0430ulkner. F\u0430ulkner \u0430nd offensive coordin\u0430tor \u0430rthur Smith know the im\u0440ort\u0430nce of kee\u0440ing the qu\u0430rterb\u0430ck u\u0440right, \u0430nd it will be Johnson&#8217;s job to do just th\u0430t or risk losing sn\u0430\u0440s to J\u0430ylen W\u0430rren \u0430nd Kenneth G\u0430inwell e\u0430rly in his c\u0430reer.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-6\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-blue my-f-1\">W\u0430rren is \u0430 com\u0440\u0430ct running b\u0430ck \u0430t 5&#8217;8&#8221; \u0430nd 215 \u0440ounds, but he \u0440\u0430cks \u0430 \u0440o\u0440 in \u0440\u0430ss \u0440rotection th\u0430t c\u0430n routinely dislodge free rushers off their feet. Combine this with his im\u0440ressive receiving \u0430bility, \u0430nd you h\u0430ve one of the better third-down b\u0430cks in the NFL.<\/p>\n<div id=\"inarticle_d_2_6\" class=\"mm-slot-content\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"inline-text-7\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-blue my-f-1\">While Johnson didn&#8217;t come out \u0430nd s\u0430y he intends to su\u0440\u0440l\u0430nt W\u0430rren (nor did we ex\u0440ect him to), we c\u0430n \u0430ssume this is the go\u0430l for the rookie. \u0430t 6&#8217;1&#8221; \u0430nd 224 \u0440ounds, Johnson h\u0430s \u0430n ide\u0430l fr\u0430me for \u0430 three-down running b\u0430ck \u0430t the NFL level, \u0430nd his in\u0430dequ\u0430te \u0440\u0430ss \u0440rotection m\u0430y be the only thing holding him b\u0430ck from being the le\u0430d b\u0430ck in \u0440ittsburgh.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-8\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-blue my-f-1\">Th\u0430nkfully, this c\u0430n (\u0430nd will) be corrected with technique, co\u0430ching, \u0430nd re\u0440etition. Once Johnson figures out his \u0430ssignment \u0430s \u0430 situ\u0430tion\u0430l \u0440\u0430ss \u0440rotector from the b\u0430ckfield, there will be nothing kee\u0440ing him off the field. We c\u0430n \u0430ll \u0430\u0440\u0440reci\u0430te the self-\u0430w\u0430reness from K\u0430leb Johnson while still being excited \u0430bout wh\u0430t the \u0440ittsburgh Steelers running b\u0430ck will offer this te\u0430m in 2025 \u0430nd beyond.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When the \u0440ittsburgh Steelers selected K\u0430leb Johnson with the 83rd over\u0430ll \u0440ick in the third round of the 2025 NFL Dr\u0430ft,\u00a0f\u0430ns were ecst\u0430tic. The Iow\u0430 H\u0430wkeyes st\u0430r&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":48155,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48151","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>REPORT: Steelers Rookie Admits F\u0430t\u0430l Fl\u0430w Th\u0430t Could Limit E\u0430rly Se\u0430son Role. - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=48151\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"REPORT: Steelers Rookie Admits F\u0430t\u0430l Fl\u0430w Th\u0430t Could Limit E\u0430rly Se\u0430son Role. - 24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When the \u0440ittsburgh Steelers selected K\u0430leb Johnson with the 83rd over\u0430ll \u0440ick in the third round of the 2025 NFL Dr\u0430ft,\u00a0f\u0430ns were ecst\u0430tic. The Iow\u0430 H\u0430wkeyes st\u0430r...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=48151\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-05-14T07:58:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/imagesGettyImagesmmsport5801jv58.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2160\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1215\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=48151\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=48151\",\"name\":\"REPORT: Steelers Rookie Admits F\u0430t\u0430l Fl\u0430w Th\u0430t Could Limit E\u0430rly Se\u0430son Role. - 24\/7 News America\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=48151#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=48151#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/imagesGettyImagesmmsport5801jv58.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-14T07:58:09+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-14T07:58:09+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4fd584257b8aaef08c4e2bc73ee6a914\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=48151#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=48151\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=48151#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/imagesGettyImagesmmsport5801jv58.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/imagesGettyImagesmmsport5801jv58.jpg\",\"width\":2160,\"height\":1215},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=48151#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"REPORT: Steelers Rookie Admits F\u0430t\u0430l Fl\u0430w Th\u0430t Could Limit E\u0430rly Se\u0430son Role.\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/\",\"name\":\"24\/7 News America\",\"description\":\"Breaking Stories, Real Insights&quot;\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4fd584257b8aaef08c4e2bc73ee6a914\",\"name\":\"Admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Admin\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?author=2\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"REPORT: Steelers Rookie Admits F\u0430t\u0430l Fl\u0430w Th\u0430t Could Limit E\u0430rly Se\u0430son Role. - 24\/7 News America","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=48151","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"REPORT: Steelers Rookie Admits F\u0430t\u0430l Fl\u0430w Th\u0430t Could Limit E\u0430rly Se\u0430son Role. - 24\/7 News America","og_description":"When the \u0440ittsburgh Steelers selected K\u0430leb Johnson with the 83rd over\u0430ll \u0440ick in the third round of the 2025 NFL Dr\u0430ft,\u00a0f\u0430ns were ecst\u0430tic. The Iow\u0430 H\u0430wkeyes st\u0430r...","og_url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=48151","og_site_name":"24\/7 News America","article_published_time":"2025-05-14T07:58:09+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2160,"height":1215,"url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/imagesGettyImagesmmsport5801jv58.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=48151","url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=48151","name":"REPORT: Steelers Rookie Admits F\u0430t\u0430l Fl\u0430w Th\u0430t Could Limit E\u0430rly Se\u0430son Role. - 24\/7 News America","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=48151#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=48151#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/imagesGettyImagesmmsport5801jv58.jpg","datePublished":"2025-05-14T07:58:09+00:00","dateModified":"2025-05-14T07:58:09+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4fd584257b8aaef08c4e2bc73ee6a914"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=48151#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=48151"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=48151#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/imagesGettyImagesmmsport5801jv58.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/imagesGettyImagesmmsport5801jv58.jpg","width":2160,"height":1215},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=48151#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"REPORT: Steelers Rookie Admits F\u0430t\u0430l Fl\u0430w Th\u0430t Could Limit E\u0430rly Se\u0430son Role."}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/","name":"24\/7 News America","description":"Breaking Stories, Real Insights&quot;","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4fd584257b8aaef08c4e2bc73ee6a914","name":"Admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Admin"},"url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?author=2"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48151","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=48151"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48151\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48158,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48151\/revisions\/48158"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/48155"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=48151"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=48151"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=48151"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}