In Kaleb Johnson, Steelers appear to have ideal teammate, complement for Jaylen Warren

When Kaleb Johnson walked off the field late last week following his first practice session as a professional, he didn’t wait for reporters to engage him.

“What’s up, guys?” Johnson, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ third-round pick, said. “How are y’all doing?”

If Johnson wasn’t afraid to initiate conversation with a gaggle of then-strangers, he surely isn’t one to need any prodding to ingratiate himself to his new teammates.

As a running back who has instantly become teammates with an established returning pro in his position room, that gregariousness is a skill worth using. It works in currying favor with the large men — offensive linemen — who make his job much easier, too.

Any potential awkwardness Johnson could have encountered with fourth-year running back Jaylen Warren has seemingly already been absolved before the two even share the field together.

During his first public comments in Pittsburgh since joining the Steelers, Johnson was as complimentary of Warren as he was about the Iowa offensive line that cleared the way for him to rush for 1,537 yards last season.

“My offensive line,” Johnson said when asked how he amassed 43 carries last season of at least 10 yards, tied for sixth-most in the country. “I feel like the guys up front for me (made it happen). It wasn’t just the relationships on the field; it was off the field. We hung out. We had a bond, all of us together. It was great. So when we got on the field, it was there — the chemistry — and I feel they blocked their butts off for me, and so did the wide receivers and tight ends. I feel like they helped me make those big plays, big time, and if it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t be able to score touchdowns.

“They did it all for me.”

Johnson, who won’t turn 22 until toward the end of training camp at Saint Vincent College, speaks with a maturity beyond his years that figures to make him popular in the Steelers locker room.

“He’s got a good head on his shoulders,” said Johnson’s teammate at Iowa, Steelers fifth-round pick Yahya Black.

Johnson already pledged to bond with the Steelers offensive linemen the way he did with his blockers at Iowa. He’s called his new position coach, Eddie Faulkner, “one of the greats that is coaching,” and said of Warren, “He’s one of the best in the league.”

Johnson showed team qualities in staying at Iowa during an era of player movement in which the majority of players enter the transfer portal at least once over their college careers.

Additionally, the 6-foot-1, 224-pound Johnson is comfortable enough in himself that he freely identifies his own weakness as a player.

“Pass blocking,” Johnson said. “Pass blocking is the main thing I want to work on — and I’m going to work on it every day. After practice, every day just going to that bag out there, hitting it with Coach Faulkner and just learning, really. Learning from Warren, too.

“I told him, ‘Let’s do it. Let’s work after every practice and do it.’ He’s with it — so I am down to go.”

Pass blocking is a weakness for Johnson in part because he rarely was asked to do so at Iowa. While part of that is because the Hawkeyes ran a run-heavy offense, it also was out of deference to Johnson’s skills. Consider that according to Pro Football Focus, Johnson was on the field for 450 offensive snaps in 2024. He was given the ball for 262 of them — and he had a better yards-per-carry average than all but four power-conference running backs.

“That was the thing — we (the Iowa offense) didn’t care,” Johnson said. “(Opponents) knew I was getting the ball, but they had to stop it. And they couldn’t. So we just kept doing it.”

Johnson comes across as humble, and he’s the first to credit a teammate for his success. But don’t be fooled.

He is supremely confident.

“I want to be rookie of the year — that’s my main thing,” Johnson said. “Work to win some Super Bowls, win rookie of the year, you know, All-Pro, I want to do all that. And I feel like (the Steelers) can best support me here, and I can get in here and I can do it.”

Johnson figures, at best, to start out in a timeshare with Warren, who over the past two seasons played more than 47% of the Steelers’ offensive snaps. After the departure of “1A” running back Najee Harris in free agency, Warren was offered and signed a $5.35 million contract tender for 2025.

The Steelers also added free agent Kenneth Gainwell, who served a third-down role for the Super Bowl-champion Philadelphia Eagles. Veteran Trey Sermon was added last week, Evan Hull signed a reserve/future deal in January and veteran reserve Jonathan Ward is back from last season.

Johnson, though, is the co-favorite with Warren to get the most touches, snaps and carries this season.

“We’re obviously excited,” offensive coordinator Arthur Smith said of adding Johnson. “No matter if you are running the football or the pass game, we need to get more explosive, and this is an explosive runner, and that’s where he will certainly help.”