Pittsburgh Steelers rookie running back Kaleb Johnson has big goals. As he should, a confident player ready to contribute to his new team. It hasn’t caused him to lose sight of putting team first, [mentioning Super Bowl alongside personal accolade](https://steelersdepot.com/2025/05/i-wanna-be-rookie-of-the-year-rb-kaleb-johnson-sets-big-year-1-goals/), but becoming NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year would put him in rare Steelers company.
The award has been handed out since 1967 and only one Steelers running back has taken it home. Franco Harris received it thanks to his 1,055-yard, 10-touchdown campaign in 1972. Missing the first month of 2013 doomed Le’Veon Bell’s chances, not receiving a single vote that year. Not even Najee Harris’ 1,200-yard campaign in 2021 could get him on the ballot. Wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase ran away with the trophy with QB Mac Jones and two offensive linemen, C Creed Humphrey and OT Rashawn Slater, [accounting for the rest of the tallies.](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/awards/awards_2021.htm)
The only Steelers non-running backs to win it were QB Ben Roethlisberger in 2004 – a unanimous selection – and WR Louis Lipps in 1984, comfortably beating out Buffalo Bills RB Greg Miller.
In the Mike Tomlin era, only a handful of Steelers have even received votes. QB Kenny Pickett, C Maurkice Pouncey (he had two in 2010), and WR Mike Wallace appeared on a few ballots after their first year. But no recent Steeler has come close.
Surprisingly, any running back winning the award is relatively uncommon. For a position that has such an immediate and easier path to playing time, they don’t usually walk away with hardware. No runner has won it in the last six years, Saquon Barkley the last to do so in 2018.
Since Tomlin became head coach in 2007, here’s who has won it by position:
**Quarterback:** 9
**Running Back:** 5
**Wide Receiver:** 4
Quarterbacks get all the glory but there’s been some underwhelming classes at the position, too. Still, they dominate the list, winning it as often as running back and receiver combined.
Even if Kaleb Johnson can’t win Rookie of the Year, he can still set high marks for a first-year Steeler. The Harris’, Franco and Najee, are the only two Steelers to rush for 1,000 yards as a rookie. Only three others, Bell, Bam Morris, and Tim Worley, have cracked the 500-yard barrier. Reaching four-digits might be asking too much of Johnson but 500 yards is easily attainable.
No matter the stats or votes, Johnson needs to help make the Steelers’ offense more explosive and dynamic, something he was consistently capable of in college. If he can do that, Pittsburgh will feel good about its pick.