Player: RB Kaleb Johnson<\/p>\n
Stock Value: Up<\/p>\n
Reasoning:\u00a0New Steelers HC Mike McCarthy made abundantly clear that second-year RB Kaleb Johnson will have a fresh start with him. A 2025 third-round pick, Johnson had a rookie season to forget, and forget it they shall. But he still has Jaylen Warren and Rico Dowdle ahead of him on the depth chart, so playing time will be hard to come by, to say the least. That\u2019s assuming that he makes the 53-man roster, which is not a given.<\/p>\n
If Kaleb Johnson has a future with the Steelers, he has an uphill battle ahead of him. A battle up the depth chart, more specifically, stationed behind Jaylen Warren and Rico Dowdle. The Steelers figure to be high on their top two backs, combining to average about $6 million per season. But what Johnson does have, at least evidently, is the support of the coaching staff.<\/p>\n
The Steelers drafted Kaleb Johnson in the third round last year, and he did not play much. When he did, he did not perform well. He posted a run success rate of just 25 percent, and the less said of his kick return work, the better.<\/p>\n
Outside parties placed expectations sky high, projecting Johnson would be the starter by October. Some predicted a 1,000-yard season, but he didn\u2019t even come close to 100. On 28 carries, he compiled just 69 yards with a long of nine yards.<\/p>\n
We don\u2019t yet know whether this is positive or negative, but Johnson does return this season to effectively an all-new coaching staff. We don\u2019t know how he got along with Eddie Faulkner, but the former Steelers RB coach was well liked. Now he has Mike McCarthy as his head coach and play caller and his hand-picked coaching staff.<\/p>\n
Notably, the Steelers\u2019 new running backs coach has never been a running backs coach before. Previously working with the offensive line, however, he has had his hand in everything. Perhaps a younger, hungry coach is what Kaleb Johnson needs, a project to take on.<\/p>\n
With the 2025 season behind us and the new league year underway, we still have stock to take. Already promising\u00a0a year of change<\/a>, they are shaking things up. That is unavoidable, of course, when you gut the coaching staff. Mike Tomlin\u2019s resignation will fundamentally change this football team, including the playoffs on the roster.<\/p>\n