Investing in the 2025 Roster continues to be the focus of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2025 draft than taking longer-term projects.

Pittsburgh entered round 1 targeting DL, RB & WR in that particular order.

D-Line got checked off in Round 1 with the selection of Derrick Harmon that saw the Pittsburgh Steelers for the second straight night stay true to their board and being all-in on going running back in Round 3 by selecting  Iowa running back Kaleb Johnson (6-1, 224lbs) in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft (83rd overall pick). Pittsburgh was always going running back here as the team once again passed up on going QB as Jalen Milroe and Shedeur Sanders were still on the board.

Johnson is a very intriguing back who rushed for 1,537 yards with 21 touchdowns at Iowa in 2024. Great size at 6,1′, 224 lbs, can really excel in outside zone scheme and is a bruising back with a mix of finesse. Ran a 4.57 forty at his size and it meets with the eye test. He quickly builds up breakaway speed when he gets to the perimeter.

“Excited about getting Kaleb Johnson in here,” said offensive coordinator Smith. “Really explosive running back that we spent some time with on a 30 visit here. One of the more instinctive backs that I’ve watched in a couple of years coming out of the draft. Perfect fit regardless of whatever run scheme you’re running. He ran multiple at Iowa. Really impressive as a volume runner as the game went on, and one of the more impressive stats you’ve seen is the fourth quarter, what he averaged in the fourth quarter. I believe it was over five yards per carry. Might have been closer to six. We think he’s a great culture fit. Obviously extremely fired up to get Kaleb in here.”

The Steelers think they got another weapon for Aaron Rodgers whom they remained extremely confident of getting a commitment from Rodgers within the next To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

Shedeur Sanders massive draft free fall continues as where the media and teams saw Sanders draft stock was certainly on different hemispheres. Here’s a guy some tried to link the Cleveland Browns to at #2 overall a few months ago to the Browns and Cleveland goes out and passes on Sanders five times, including four times Friday night. The caveat of them all Cleveland selected QB Dillon Gabriel at 94th overall, a smallish QB who is 5’11 on stilts. Could he go undrafted? It’s quite clear pretty much every team doesn’t want to deal with the BS that surrounds Sanders and his family. Deion Sanders went from preselecting teams to now who knows what. And lets call it what it is, the Steelers never had a first round grade on Sanders and that was Mike Tomlin leaking it to try to help Sanders get drafted elsewhere.

Pittsburgh is back on the clock today at #123. They say they like the QB class. Among those still in play the various members of the organization have been fans of throughout the process:

  • Will Howard, Ohio State
  • Kyle McCord, Syracuse
  • Quinn Ewers, Texas
  • Riley Leonard, Notre Dame

The question is for a team that’s prioritized immediate help, is it really worth much to take any QB today when you’ve had limited picks thus far?

Related posts:

Top-10? Draft Buzz growing inside Steelers building of Jaxson Dart going before Shedeur Sanders QB Buzz: Rodgers offer to be pulled if Sanders drafted at #21? Default ThumbnailSteelers Injury Buzz for Thursday Night on Sanders, Woodley, Foote, Foster and Browns Ward & Hillis Default ThumbnailLatest Steelers Buzz: Tomlin on biggest needs, running back situation, concerns over Sanders recurring injuries & more tidbits