The Pittsburgh Steelers spent a third-round pick on Kaleb Johnson last year, but he didn’t have a great rookie season. A costly special teams error early seemed to haunt him throughout the season. The Steelers were hoping he could help replace Najee Harris, but it’s unclear how much work he’ll get this year.

But the Steelers realistically could’ve ended up with a different running back in the 2025 draft. Miami Dolphins running back Ollie Gordon II recently revealed that Pittsburgh was one of the few teams he believed was seriously interested in drafting him.

“I would say it was out of the Dolphins and the Steelers,” Gordon said recently on Terron Armstead’s YouTube channel. “Because those were my last two 30 visits I had. It happened to be that I had just [gotten] to Pittsburgh and Miami contacted my agent and they were like, ‘Let’s bring him out for a 30 visit.’”

Gordon went much later than Johnson, as the Dolphins selected him in the sixth round. He wasn’t their lead back, with De’Von Achane taking that spot. However, Gordon contributed at times, ending the year with 70 carries for 199 yards and three touchdowns.

The Steelers showed a ton of interest in Gordon, including a formal meeting with him at the Combine and a pre-draft visit. They did a lot of homework on running backs in the 2025 draft, and Gordon seemed like a legitimate candidate.

Gordon fits the profile of rusher that Pittsburgh had shown interest in, too. He stands around 6’1” and weighed in at over 220 pounds at the Combine. He isn’t the fastest runner, posting a 4.61 40-yard dash, but he’s a bruiser. It’s easy to see why Gordon’s tough, physical style put him on Mike Tomlin’s radar.

It’s only been one year, so it’s tough to say how different the Steelers would be with Gordon instead of Johnson. Neither player has accomplished much in the league yet, though they have time to change that.

Gordon figures to compete with 2024 fourth-round pick Jaylen Wright to be Achane’s primary backup this year. Meanwhile, Johnson seems firmly planted behind Rico Dowdle and Jaylen Warren in Pittsburgh. Both of them might have trouble getting on the field in 2026. However, we’ll see in a few years if the Steelers made a mistake by choosing Johnson over Gordon.