The Pittsburgh Steelers polished their running back room on Day 2 of the NFL Draft by selecting Iowa's Kaleb Johnson at No. 83 overall.
One of nine players at the position who took top-30 visits with the Steelers, Johnson was viewed as one of, if not the top option left on the board when he was taken.
The 21-year-old native of Cincinnati, Ohio initially was a California commit, though he eventually flipped to Iowa and signed as a member of the program's 2022 recruiting class.
Johnson put up 779 yards and six touchdowns on 151 attempts as a true freshman. He saw his numbers take a rather significant step back in 2023 though, as he posted 463 yards and three scores on 117 carries across 10 contests.
He saved his best for last, however, going off for a Big 10-best 1,537 yards and 21 touchdowns on 240 carries in 12 games for the Hawkeyes.
A consensus first-team All-American and finalist for the Doak Walker Award as the top running back in the nation, Johnson ran a 4.57-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine alongside a 1.62-second 10-yard shuttle.
He'll now join Jaylen Warren, who signed his restricted free agent tender, and Kenneth Gainwell as the core of Pittsburgh running back's rotation for the 2025 campaign, and perhaps Johnson could emerge as the team's long-term solution at the position.
