Steelers Great Jerome Bettis Sends Direct Message To Kaleb Johnson

The Pittsburgh Steelers' roster will soon round out under new head coach Mike McCarthy as cuts will need to be made ahead of the upcoming 2026 season. The team did a great job, and was praised as such, for its offseason acquisitions to round out skill positions and fill holes on the roster for McCarthy and his staff. One position that still does not need to fill out is running back, at least in terms of depth. While the front office added Rico Dowdle to replace 2025 team MVP Kenneth Gainwell and he will share carries with Jaylen Warren, the team has options behind the two veterans.

One of those individuals behind them is second-year running back Kaleb Johnson. He was the organization's third-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft from the University of Iowa. However, a special teams blunder in 2025 against the Seattle Seahawks, that allowed them to score a touchdown on the play, limited his playing time under the former Pittsburgh coaching staff. However, he now has a chance to put that behind him and impress the new coaching staff under McCarthy.

Former legendary running back Jerome Bettis sat down for an interview recently with Pro Football Network and was asked about Johnson as well as his career trajectory with the team. Bettis did mention the typical career path of an NFL running back and supported the idea of allowing him time to develop. If there is anyone who it would be smart to listen to on this subject, it would be The Bus.

"I think Kaleb is going to make a strong push," Bettis said. "Physically, he’s got all the tools. I think he just had to figure it out. And it just takes a little while sometimes for a running back to figure out; you learn the speed of the game, how it’s played. It’s a much different game than college. So I think he’ll bounce back and I think he’ll be ready to fight for the starting job."

While he sees the chance for the Iowa product to develop, his physical tools did show in his time at Iowa. In Johnson's final college season in 2024, he put up massive numbers for the Hawkeyes. He had 1,537 yards rushing, good for 6.4 yards per attempt, while scoring 21 touchdowns in that season. That season alone should tell the franchise to exercise patience with Johnson, as the physical tools definitely showed up on the stat sheet in that 2024 college season.

Steelers Only Benefit Is Operating With Patience For Kaleb Johnson

While the organization could end up seeing this pick be a bust in time, they should exercise patience with the second-year running back. While Dowdle and Warren both have the ability to rush for 1,000 yards, it is inevitable that they will need a break in games. That is where Johnson comes into focus for the team in the 2026 season.

He does currently fit the mold more so of a third down back given the talent at the top of the depth chart at the position. However, if he can tap into the potential and provide some flashes of his production in 2024, that gives them three excellent options at the running back position for McCarthy's first season. This role was recently mentioned for him in the upcoming season, as well as having a role on the team in special teams.

While that 2025 mistake certainly cost the second year running back some playing time to some extent or another, the talent is in there for the former Iowa workhorse. If Pittsburgh would decide to give up on him too quickly, many teams would be working to add him to their roster, even if if would just be for a depth option. 

For a guy who is entering just his second season with the team, he can provide some hidden value as well as depth for the team so it is smart for them to exercise patience with him so he can develop at the NFL level.

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