Second Year Explosion For Steelers' Kaleb Johnson Possible Like James Conner

The Pittsburgh Steelers expected big things from running back Kaleb Johnson in his rookie year, but that just never happened. He fell behind the curve, and Kenneth Gainwell took full advantage of that while not allowing him to leapfrog him on the depth chart. Even General Manager Omar Khan, who usually avoids saying anything negative, admitted that he was disappointed in the former third-round pick. He never seemed to recover from his kickoff blunder from Week 2, or at least the coaches didn't give him the chance to. 

Luckily for Johnson, all hope is not lost. In his latest article on X, Mark Kaboly mentioned another name that had his issues before becoming a great running back in his second year in the NFL.

"Here, I think Khan is spitting facts, and they were surprised by the lack of explosion from [Kaleb] Johnson when he was out there," Kaboly said. "In his defense, I’ve seen running backs make huge strides physically from their rookie year to their second year. James Conner comes to mind."

James Conner was originally part of the immaculate 2017 draft class that bore many fruits for Pittsburgh. He spent his rookie season as a backup for Le'Veon Bell before tearing his ACL and ending his first year in the pros. In 2018, he got the starting job and ran wild with it for almost 1,500 scrimmage yards. When he was on the field, he was an absolute beast while carrying the rock. 

After his rookie contract expired, Conner was signed by the Arizona Cardinals, where he has spent the previous five seasons. Running backs typically don't last very long in the NFL, but he has proven to be a consistent force whenever he's healthy. There lies the problem with him, however. If he was not injury prone, he would most likely have been a Steeler for a much longer time. Maybe he never signs elsewhere. 

Injuries aside, Conner has had a very nice career despite not looking great in his first year. The hope for the Steelers is that Johnson can have a similar career path as him, and it starts with beginning his second season on the right foot. He needs to prove that he is in better shape, smarter, and ready to go before the coaching staff moves him up in the depth chart for Week 1 of the regular season.

Gainwell could leave in free agency, which would give Johnson a great chance to earn more snaps. He may still be a backup to Jaylen Warren, but the Steelers could end up adopting more of a modern-style running back by committee, which would allow the 2025 third-round pick to come in on some third down situations and occasionally have a whole drive to himself, depending on how well he performs. 

Having Warren and Johnson rotate would make it hard on opposing defensive coordinators to come up with plays to stop whoever is in the backfield. They are different builds, but many of their skills overlap. The biggest difference is that the former undrafted free agent is more of a sideline-to-sideline guy, while the third-round pick prefers to run north to south.

Steelers Likely Will Not Gift Johnson The RB2 Spot

Even if Gainwell leaves, the Steelers could end up using a Day 3 pick on a running back to add more depth to the position. What it would also add is a competition between that rookie and Johnson, as they would both have to prove themselves and battle it out all throughout training camp and preseason to see who will get more snaps whenever Warren rotates out.

What do you think about Johnson maybe having the same career arc as Conner? Let us know in the comments or on X at @Steelers_ChrisB.

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