Kaleb Johnson fantasy outlook 2025: Is Steelers RB a good pick with Najee Harris' departure?

With the departure of running back Najee Harris to the Los Angeles Chargers in free agency, the Pittsburgh Steelers decided to use premium draft capital in the 2025 selection process to add Iowa Hawkeyes RB Kaleb Johnson.

The move represents only one of the many offensive changes that took place this offseason in Pittsburgh, with QB Aaron Rodgers and WR DK Metcalf also joining the franchise.

As a result, with a completely new group of players, fantasy football managers may have questions about who on the Steelers offense they should target in drafts this summer.

While Rodgers and Metcalf are proven at the professional level, Kaleb Johnson is entering his first season in the league and could find himself in a committee backfield that also includes Jaylen Warren. Due to this, Johnson's fantasy outlook in 2025 has remained in and around the RB3/4 range in most rankings.

According to Fantasy Pros, Johnson is being projected as the RB28 in drafts this summer, with Warren being ranked as the RB30. This projection would likely have Johnson being taken near the eighth round and Warren near the tenth round of your draft this year.

Kaleb Johnson fantasy outlook with the departure of Najee Harris

The Steelers unquestionably have more invested in the success of Johnson, given that he was a third-round pick and Warren was an undrafted free agent signing. However, that does not mean that the path to the Steelers RB1 position is automatically Johnson's this year.

Warren has consistently impressed with his dynamic speed and agility, as well as his strong pass-catching skills from the backfield. Meanwhile, Johnson is more known for his rushing abilities, power and vision with the football.

As a result, there is a very real chance that Johnson and Warren create a strong committee backfield in 2025, the likeliest combination of which is Johnson playing on early-downs and Warren primarily featuring on third-downs or passing situations.

While this approach would allow both running backs to succeed, it would also unquestionably impact both players' fantasy football ceiling. Furthermore, with an extremely different offense than last year, it is unclear whether the Steelers will be a high-scoring, fantasy helpful unit in 2025. As a result, while Johnson should be viewed as the likelier of the two to emerge as the RB1, both RBs should be taken in the RB3/4 range until the season begins and more role clarity comes.