The Case for Kaleb Johnson Holding Pittsburgh's Third Running Back Job in 2026
- Greg Simmons
- Aug 1
- 4 min read
Updated: Aug 5
Pittsburgh's running back room has two settled spots at the top Jaylen Warren and
Rico Dowdle and one genuinely open competition behind them. Kaleb Johnson
enters his second season as the presumptive favorite for that third job, but a
disappointing rookie year has left the door open for veteran special-teamer Travis
Homer and hometown rookie Eli Heidenreich to make a real push. Strip the competition
down to what each player did in his final college season, and Johnsons case is still the
strongest one in the room.
Johnsons College Production Still Sets Him Apart
Johnson's final season at Iowa in 2024 was not a modest college campaign padded by
system touches. He carried the ball 240 times for 1,537 rushing yards and 21 rushing
touchdowns, a 6.4-yard average that led the entire Big Ten. He added 22 catches for
188 yards and two more scores, giving him 23 total touchdowns and a school record for
points in a season. He topped 100 rushing yards in eight of Iowa's 12 games, including
a 206-yard performance against Minnesota, and accounted for more than 40 percent of
Iowa's entire offense that year, a workload matched by almost no other back in his draft
class. PFF charted more than 1,000 of his rushing yards as coming after first contact,
and he faced eight or more defenders in the box on over half his career carries, evidence that his production was not simply a product of a favorable offensive line or light boxes. That level of college volume and efficiency is the primary reason Pittsburgh traded up in the third round to get him in 2025. No other running back currently competing for the third job produced anything close to it in his final year on campus.
Homer' s Case Is Built on Special Teams, Not the Ball
Travis Homer's final college season came in 2018 at Miami, his junior year before
entering the draft. He carried 164 times for 985 yards and four touchdowns, a 6.0 yard
average, adding 19 catches for 186 yards. Those are respectable numbers, but they
came seven years ago, and Homer's NFL career has never translated that college
rushing profile into a similar role at the next level. Across parts of seven NFL seasons in
Seattle and Chicago, Homer has totaled just 474 rushing yards, and his roster value has
been almost entirely tied to special teams’ coverage work rather than touches on
offense. Pittsburgh signed him for exactly that reason to push young players and
provide a veteran special-teams presence, not to compete for meaningful offensive
snaps. His college tape shows a real college back his NFL tape shows a special teamer. That gap matters when the question is who handles actual running back duties
in 2026, not who fills out a roster spot.
Heidenreich's Rookie Profile Is Real, But It's a Projection
Eli Heidenreich's final season at Navy in 2025 was genuinely productive, but in a role
that does not map cleanly onto an NFL running back job. Playing the "snipe" hybrid
position unique to Navy' s option offense, he was the team's leading receiver with 39
catches for 671 yards and six touchdowns, a 17.2-yard average per catch, while also
carrying the ball 67 times. His per-touch numbers were strong, and his 94.8 PFF
receiving grade was the best of any drafted running back in his class, with the most
targets at the position in all of college football. That versatility is legitimately exciting,
and it is why Pittsburgh's running backs coach has already praised him this spring.
But 67 college carries are the lowest volume of any drafted back in his class, and
Heidenreich has never run behind an NFL-caliber offensive line or handled a true early
down role at any level. His profile projects best as a developmental receiving weapon
and special-teams piece, not as a proven ball-carrier ready to handle the between the
tackles work the third running back job may require if injuries hit Warren or Dowdle.
Multiple outlets have already flagged him as a likely camp bubble player behind Warren,
Dowdle, and Johnson specifically.
Being Honest About Johnson's Own Struggles
None of this erases Johnson's disappointing rookie season, and a fair case has to say
so directly. Johnson failed to establish himself as a consistent contributor in 2025, and
Pittsburgh's decision to sign Dowdle in free agency was widely read as a lack of
organizational confidence in Johnson carrying a real role. His college dominance also
came in a run-heavy Iowa offense that limited his opportunities to show receiving or
pass-protection skills, areas the Steelers will need him to develop to hold a roster spot
in year two. If Johnson's rookie-year issues persist in training camp, it is not
unreasonable for the coaching staff to lean on Homer's steadiness or give Heidenreich
extended run given his flashes of upside.
But rookie struggles are not the same as a talent or fit problem. Johnson was PFF's
highest-graded college rusher in the Big Ten the year Iowa drafted him, and neither
Homer nor Heidenreich enters 2026 with a college resume that approaches his volume,
efficiency, or specific fit for Pittsburgh's downhill running scheme. A quiet rookie year is
a reason for competition, not a reason to hand the job to a special-teams veteran or an
unproven, low-volume rookie.
The Verdict on Kaleb Johnson
Strip this competition down to what each player did in his final college season, and
Johnson's case is not close. He produced more volume, more efficiency, and more total
impact than either Homer or Heidenreich managed in their own final college campaigns,
and he did it in a role that translates directly to what Pittsburgh needs from a third
running back. Homer's college production is real but seven years removed from
relevance, and his NFL career has already defined his role as a special-teamer rather
than a ballcarrier. Heidenreich's rookie flashes are promising, but they come from a
hybrid college role and a carry total too small to project confidently onto NFL early down
work.
Kaleb Johnson's rookie season gave Pittsburgh reasons for concern, but it did not erase
the résumé that got him drafted in the first place. Unless training camp shows a clear
and sustained regression, the third running back job should remain his to lose, not one
Homer or Heidenreich has yet to earn.
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