Kaleb Johnson

[NorthCoast]

As long as he has a longer prime.

LOL. What I was thinking. That second contract set the team back five years.

[NorthCoast]

Grading the RB class....11 TDs would best Harris' rookie season. I don't think Johnson gets there splitting carries with Warren.

"Magna Cum Laude
RB Kaleb Johnson, Pittsburgh Steelers
Like many fantasy fanatics, I identified the Steelers as one of the premier backfields for a running back to land. Hello, Kaleb Johnson! The former Iowa Hawkeye rushed for over 1,500 yards last year and excelled in an outside zone scheme. Offensive coordinator Arthur Smith runs lots of outside zone, which is the near-perfect fit for Johnson.

Over the past three seasons, Najee Harris earned well over 250 carries and surpassed 1,000 yards in each campaign. He also averaged seven rushing touchdowns from 2022 to 2024. At 6-0 and 225 pounds, Johnson profiles as a workhorse back who is physically tough and employs vision and patience to blast upfield. The rookie’s fantasy ceiling is likely capped based on Smith’s preference to rotate runners, and veteran Jaylen Warren will still have a role in the Steel City backfield. In 2025, I foresee Johnson becoming a Top 24 fantasy runner.

Notebook: “Excited about getting Kaleb Johnson in here. Really explosive running back that we spent some time with on a 30 visit. One of the more instinctive backs that I’ve watched in a couple of years coming out of the draft. Really impressive as a volume runner as the game went on. We also think he’s a great culture fit,” Steelers’ offensive coordinator Smith declared (Steelers.com)."

2025 Projections: 1,100 rushing yards, 100 receiving yards, 10 catches and 11 total touchdowns

[steeler_fan_in_t.o.]

LOL. What I was thinking. That second contract set the team back five years.

Todd Gurley was both one of the top backs in the game his first four years and the poster boy for the fall off in the RB market.

[feltdizz]

LOL. What I was thinking. That second contract set the team back five years.

This is a joke right?

Rams won the SB 3 years after the Gurley injury and only missed the playoffs once in that time frame.

[NorthCoast]

This is a joke right?

Rams won the SB 3 years after the Gurley injury and only missed the playoffs once in that time frame.

That was his first contract, not the second.

[LPMAN]

What worries me about Kaleb Johnson i when you watch the tape, he had huge holes you could drive semi trucks through, & also he runs high like Dickerson. Let's hope he's Eric Dickerson!

[Northern_Blitz]

This is a joke right?

Rams won the SB 3 years after the Gurley injury and only missed the playoffs once in that time frame.

My guess is that he was just throwing out the SM quote.

It was a terrible contract. But the Rams were able to succeed in spite of it.

[Northern_Blitz]

What worries me about Kaleb Johnson i when you watch the tape, he had huge holes you could drive semi trucks through, & also he runs high like Dickerson. Let's hope he's Eric Dickerson!

At the end of the day he's a mid round pick.

I'm optimistic that he can be at least an OK starter. If he's not, just draft another RB in the 2nd or 3rd in a couple years. In fact, probably do that either way.

[Dog chasing Cat]

At the end of the day he's a mid round pick.

I'm optimistic that he can be at least an OK starter. If he's not, just draft another RB in the 2nd or 3rd in a couple years. In fact, probably do that either way.

Comes down to if this offenisve line is finally going to be better or not. If not, he's going to look bad.

[LPMAN]

At the end of the day he's a mid round pick.

I'm optimistic that he can be at least an OK starter. If he's not, just draft another RB in the 2nd or 3rd in a couple years. In fact, probably do that either way.

I think he needs to better than Najee otherwise you could have used 5th year option a year ago on Najee & used the pick on another needed position.

[NorthCoast]

I think he needs to better than Najee otherwise you could have used 5th year option a year ago on Najee & used the pick on another needed position.

Wait. You are asking a 3rd round pick to be better than a 1st round pick?

(sarcasm off... I agree. The idea was to upgrade the position, not to be status quo)

[Joel Buchsbaum]

Last year Johnson averaged 6.4 yards per rush, had numerous 10+ yard runs and played on an 8-5 Iowa team vs. good competition. He did it vs. more stacked boxes than most backs faced because Iowa was not explosive offensively. This is very good.

He did not play with an all star OL ( not Alabama's ) either.

If you understand all of the above, you see why I had a late first round grade on the man. High YPR , good competition faced, playing with an aveage OL, = a player @ RB!


I get it that he is unlikely to take runs 30+ yards to distance, but such runs are rare and rare and require say 4.4 speed or better.

Okay -- the man is a chain mover who lived in the end zone! His vision is excellent and he follows his blocker well. He picks the right hole and goes at it hard. A durable back. He doesn't dance, nor does he have good open field moves.

We had issues punching it last year. Enter Johnson wit his 21 TD's rushing.

Oh by that way he did not fumble last year.

I think he and Howard were draft day steals.

[feltdizz]

That was his first contract, not the second.

Gurley’s second contract was in 2018. Rams
won a SB in 2021.

[feltdizz]

My guess is that he was just throwing out the SM quote.

It was a terrible contract. But the Rams were able to succeed in spite of it.

yeah.. that’s my point. While the contract was ill timed (didn’t need to do it for another year) it didn’t set them back since they won a SB 3 years later.

[Northern_Blitz]

I think he needs to better than Najee otherwise you could have used 5th year option a year ago on Najee & used the pick on another needed position.

My guess is that this is pretty dependent on how we define "better".

I think we could easily see an improvement in the running game even if KJ has fewer yards than Najee.

He'll almost certainly have a higher YPC. And has a pretty good shot at having a higher success rate.

But I don't think he'll get as many touches as Najee did. Especially if we're comparing their rookie seasons.

I don't think the 5th year option on Najee would have been a huge mistake. But I do think it would have been a mistake.

Especially if we ended up hitting on one of the QBs from last year or if we thought Pickens could be a long term contributor. Since none of that happened, we still have a bunch of money (cash and cap) to spare this year. So it wouldn't have been terrible to waste some of that by overpaying Harris. That space would have been more important if we extended both Pickens (if he wasn't a diva) and Fields (if he had a good season).