When the Pittsburgh Steelers drafted running back Kaleb Johnson in the third round of the 2025 NFL draft, the hope was that he'd be the future at the position.
However, Johnson's first year in the NFL was a total disaster. He barely saw the field behind Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell, the latter of whom was the team's MVP, and a blunder on special teams put him in the dog house.
In all, Johnson carried the rock just 28 times and tallied 69 yards and was completely irrelevant in Pittsburgh's 2025 offense.
On Tuesday, Johnson arrived at the Steelers' facility for the start of the offseason program and the text on his sweatshirt perfectly encapsulated his 2026 outlook.
"Where do we go from here?" Johnson's shirt read.
Steelers second-year RB Kaleb Johnson with what I would call a very fitting fashion choice as he reports for Day 1 of Phase 1 at the facility pic.twitter.com/iNqfcGa57a
— Brian Batko (@BrianBatko) April 7, 2026
Kaleb Johnson's 2026 outlook
Things are not looking good for the young running back in 2026.
Warren is returning to his starting role for another year, and while Gainwell has left in free agency to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Steelers brought in Rico Dowdle to replace him as the 1B in the backfield, which shows zero faith in Johnson.
Considering the track records of Warren and Dowdle, who is a two-time 1,000-yard rusher, Johnson is going to have an extremely difficult time getting snaps.
That means his best path to playing time is on special teams, and we already know how that went last season.
All signs point to Johnson being a massive bust for the Steelers, and that could be cemented as soon as 2026.
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