PIT • • #
Johnson (6’1/224) immediately made a name for himself at Iowa with 779 rushing yards and six touchdowns on 151 attempts, leading the Hawkeyes in all rushing categories and setting a school record for rushing yards by a freshman in 2022. Johnson labored through an ankle issue in his sophomore season, missed three games, and failed to lead his team in carries, tanking his rushing output. In a return to form and then some, Johnson dominated the backfield in 2024 to the tune of 240 carries for 1,537 yards and 21 touchdowns. He also made progress as a pass catcher, reeling in 22 balls for 188 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Johnson is a boom-bust runner, topping 15 yards on 28 carries — the third-most in the country — with a poor success rate of just 42 percent. Given his ability to break long runs, a 4.57 Forty at the combine was slightly underwhelming, even though it’s a good time for a player of his size. Johnson has a track record of handling a heavy workload and is a threat to take any carry to the house. His style is similar to former Big 10 runner Kenneth Walker, though Johnson executes it with a much larger build. In some ways, Johnson is a Najee Harris 2.0 pick for the Steelers, though he actually busted long runs. Of course, even Harris did in college. Johnson would be a slightly underwhelming committee partner for Jaylen Warren, but he will get a real chance to be just that.
about 2 months ago
April 26, 2025 2:21 AM
