Steelers Stock Report: Trends after Day 2 of the 2025 NFL Draft

The Pittsburgh Steelers stayed put with their lone selection on Day 2 of the NFL Draft, despite the wheeling and dealing around them, and with that selection at 83 overall, the Steelers landed RB Kaleb Johnson out of Iowa.

The dynamic former Hawkeye represented incredible value to the Steelers that deep into Round 3 as the 56th ranked player on the Consensus Big Board from nflmockdraftdatabase.com.

Let’s dive into how this selection impacts the Pittsburgh Steelers in their quest to improve their roster heading into 2025.

STOCK UP: ARTHUR SMITH

The Steelers’ 2nd year Offensive Coordinator had to be ecstatic to see Kaleb Johnson’s name on that selection card on Friday night. Johnson is the perfect fit for Smith’s zone running schemes, where his instincts, vision, and quick burst make him extremely effective in choosing the right rushing lanes and driving north and south with explosiveness. Make no mistake, this pick is no Najee Harris 2.0. Johnson has sneaky long speed and foot quickness that Najee never had. Arthur Smith gets the ideal back to run the schemes that got him a Head Coach job 4 years ago.

STOCK DOWN: QUARTERBACK UPSIDE

With Jalen Milroe and Shedeur Sanders still on the board at QB when the Steelers snagged Johnson, it made sense to land of of those 2 guys in Rd. 3 to bolster the upside of what is currently the worst QB room in the league. I expect an Aaron Rodgers’ decision soon to make that no longer a major issue for 2025, but for those wanting PIT to throw a dart at a potential long term option in 2025, the Steelers clearly valued a player who helps them more now with the 83rd Pick. Milroe is now gone, and maybe the Steelers can still land Sanders in the 4th, but I think his value is almost unignorable at this point for teams picking ahead of them. Pittsburgh likely lands a QB on Day 3, but if it’s not Sanders it would appear to be more of a backup only type QB at this point.

STOCK UP: 1ST DOWN OFFENSE

Combining Kaleb Johnson with Jaylen Warren should help improve the Steelers’ historically bad 1st down offensive production from the last few years. Both backs are far more explosive than the guy who recently dominated early-down carries for PIT since 2021, and the presence of DK Metcalf and George Pickens on the outside will mean teams cannot stack the box against the run, even on 1st Down. Johnson specifically was uber efficient when facing light boxes (9.8 yds/carry in 2024), although he didn’t face many of those with Iowa’s non-existent passing attack. Arthur Smith mentioned the offense’s desire to be more unpredictable, and a much more explosive group of skill-position talent going into this season should help.

What was your initial reaction to the Steelers’ selection of Kaleb Johnson? Did I miss anything else this pick directly affects? Let me know your thoughts in the comments and stay tuned to the Steel Curtain Network throughout Day 3 of the NFL Draft for more news and updates!