Despite being a third-round pick, Pittsburgh Steelers fans have placed some pretty high expectations on Kaleb Johnson. It makes sense for the fan base to be excited about Johnson’s explosiveness after Najee Harris lacked that element for four years.
However, Johnson didn’t show all of that explosiveness in his first preseason game on Saturday. While it’s quite a small sample size to draw any conclusions from, that doesn’t stop some from worrying about him. This includes former NFL GM Doug Whaley.
“I wouldn’t panic. It’s first game action, I’m sure things are going a thousand miles per hour,” Whaley said on 93.7 The Fan on Wednesday. “But the only thing that’s creeping in my mind a little bit is, is this game too fast for him? Does he have the burst to get through those holes like he did in the Big Ten?”
“This is something that’s gonna be a question mark in the back of my head right now.”
Kaleb Johnson got a significant workload in the Big Ten, carrying the ball 240 times in 2024. He did very well, leading the conference in rushing yards, and doing it for an Iowa offense that scared absolutely nobody throwing the ball. The level of difficulty was high, and he did well. Of course, the NFL is a different story, even against backups in the preseason. Everybody is better at this level, and that caused his stat line to suffer on Saturday. Johnson ran the ball eight times, picking up 20 yards for 2.5 yards per carry.
It’s not entirely his fault, though. The Steelers were only able to establish some consistency running the ball in the fourth quarter, when Lew Nichols had a handful of nice runs. Most of those issues revolve around the offensive line. At the beginning of the game, when several starters were in, the running lanes were clogged. Johnson didn’t have much to work with.
However, there are certainly areas he needs to improve. At times, Kaleb Johnson didn’t seem to know what to do, as in the play below.
Here, Johnson just can’t figure out whether to break off into his route or stay and help pass block. While the sack isn’t his fault, his failure to become a checkdown option for Mason Rudolph is part of the reason the Steelers lost 10 yards on this play.
All of that said, Kaleb Johnson will be fine. The Steelers still have two more preseason games and a joint practice with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday. That provides more time for Johnson to get comfortable with the speed of the NFL. He likely won’t be the lead back in Week 1 either, so the offense won’t be living or dying with him.
As soon as Johnson was drafted, he was placed under high expectations. Those expectations are so high that many forget he’s a third-round pick. He will need some time, and there’s no reason to panic.
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