{"id":48288,"date":"2025-05-15T02:07:47","date_gmt":"2025-05-15T02:07:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=48288"},"modified":"2025-05-15T02:07:47","modified_gmt":"2025-05-15T02:07:47","slug":"steelers-rb-kaleb-johnson-turns-heads-at-rookie-minicamp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=48288","title":{"rendered":"Steelers RB Kaleb Johnson Turns Heads at Rookie Minicamp.."},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\" class=\"wp-caption \">\n<div class=\"h-responsive\">\n<figure class=\"h-responsive__inner\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"attachment-featured-image size-featured-image wp-post-image\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-2202709634.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 95vw, 780px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-2202709634.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-2202709634.jpg?quality=15&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-2202709634.jpg?quality=35&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1350 1350w\" alt=\"Kaleb Johnson\" width=\"780\" height=\"439\" data-dom-ready-time=\"924\" data-img-load-time=\"936\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"caption-credit\">Getty<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"c-post-image-caption-text\">2025 third-round draft pick Kaleb Johnson impressed both on and off the field at Pittsburgh Steelers rookie minicamp.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>After\u00a0signing veteran Trey Sermon, the\u00a0Pittsburgh Steelers\u00a0came away from rookie minicamp with more running back depth. But it\u2019s hard to argue that rookie\u00a0Kaleb Johnson\u00a0didn\u2019t garner most of the attention in the Steelers backfield during the rookie workouts.<\/p>\n<p>Johnson turned heads with his performance on the field and then comments off of it over the weekend.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt rookie minicamp last Friday, he was the first guy that stood out to me,\u201d The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette\u2019s Ray Fittipaldo said on 93.7 The Fan on Wednesday,\u00a0via Steelers Depot\u2019s Alex Kozora. \u201cI saw him going through drills. He was all rocked up.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m like, \u2018Okay, give me the roster. He\u2019s No. 20.\u2019 And it was Kaleb Johnson. He looks every bit the part of an NFL football player.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Steelers selected Johnson at No. 83 overall during the third round in\u00a0the 2025 NFL Draft. But Fittipaldo argued Johnson isn\u2019t the typical third-round pick.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s a reason they went out and got Kaleb Johnson in the third round,\u201d\u00a0Fittipaldo added. \u201cThey had him higher than a third-round pick. They were surprised when he was still there.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo, they\u2019re excited about him.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Steelers\u2019 Kaleb Johnson Worked on Biggest Weakness at Rookie Minicamp<\/h2>\n<p>Although Johnson impressed from a physical standpoint, the running back isn\u2019t taking his technique for granted. That\u2019s particularly true in pass protection.<\/p>\n<p>Johnson was honest with the media during Pittsburgh\u2019s rookie minicamp, telling reporters his biggest area for improvement was pass protection.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPass blocking \u2014 that\u2019s my main thing. That\u2019s what I want to work on. I\u2019m going to work on it every day,\u201d Johnson told reporters,\u00a0via Penn Live\u2019s Nick Farabaugh. \u201cAfter 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\u2019s one of the best dudes in the league right now.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI told him let\u2019s do it. Let\u2019s work after every practice and do it. He\u2019s with it, and I\u2019m down to go.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After those comments, Steelers reporters at the team\u2019s rookie minicamp appeared glued to Johnson\u2019s pass-blocking drills.\u00a0Farabaugh wrote Tuesday\u00a0the team\u2019s running backs \u201cworked tirelessly\u201d in the pass protection drills Saturday.<\/p>\n<p><iframe class=\"ql-video\" src=\"https:\/\/video.twimg.com\/ext_tw_video\/1921234414865924097\/pu\/vid\/avc1\/960x540\/qUPervzwLyyK1y9R.mp4?tag=12\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><iframe class=\"ql-video\" src=\"https:\/\/video.twimg.com\/amplify_video\/1921242756879376384\/vid\/avc1\/1280x720\/He08kGNjWDGNUY_E.mp4\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Because Johnson needs more development in pass protection,\u00a0Farabaugh expects\u00a0veteran\u00a0Jaylen 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.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Johnson Sets High NFL Goals<\/h2>\n<p>The third-round running back isn\u2019t only focused on pass protection. Johnson has lofty individual and team goals with the Steelers.<\/p>\n<p>There will be no learning curve to Johnson\u2019s goals either. They will begin in Week 1 of his rookie campaign.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNajee (Harris) had 1,000 yards all four years,\u201d Johnson said,\u00a0via The Athletic\u2019s Mike DeFabo. \u201cI want to be next up. I want to come in, (and) I want to get more.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWin 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Najee Harris\u00a0posted\u00a01,200 rushing yards along with 74 receptions and 467 receiving yards as a rookie. Those remain career highs for the 27-year-old.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>Saquon Barkley\u00a0is\u00a0the most recent running back\u00a0to win the Offensive Rookie of the Year award in 2018. That season,\u00a0Barkley registered\u00a01,307 rushing yards and led the NFL with 2,028 yards from scrimmage.<\/p>\n<p>To have the pass-catching opportunities, Johnson will have to greatly improve in pass protection this summer.<\/p>\n<p>Not that the Steelers don\u2019t like Johnson, but the likely has lower expectations for the rookie running back.\u00a0A 1,000-yard rushing season with more efficiency than Harris offered would be a significant contribution from the rookie.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Getty 2025 third-round draft pick Kaleb Johnson impressed both on and off the field at Pittsburgh Steelers rookie minicamp. After\u00a0signing veteran Trey Sermon, the\u00a0Pittsburgh Steelers\u00a0came away from&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":48289,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48288","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>Steelers RB Kaleb Johnson Turns Heads at Rookie Minicamp.. - 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=48288\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Steelers RB Kaleb Johnson Turns Heads at Rookie Minicamp.. - 24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Getty 2025 third-round draft pick Kaleb Johnson impressed both on and off the field at Pittsburgh Steelers rookie minicamp. 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