Kaleb

Johnson

A pair of rookies draw inactivity as both Wilson and Johnson are not active for the team’s Wildcard game against the Texans. The Steelers aim to avoid a one-and-done after backing into the postseason in Week 18.

Watt isn’t expected to get his usual amount of snaps, but the future Hall of Famer will be able to held as a pass-rusher in sub-packages in the winner-take-all game. The Steelers inactives for Week 18 will be WR Roman Wilson, QB Will Howard, RB Kaleb Johnson, CB Tre Flowers, LB Jeremiah Moon and OT Jack Driscoll.

Graziano adds that “the team also believes rookie Kaleb Johnson will contribute before season’s end,” but for now, it is a two-man show. Perhaps the biggest news here is that Graziano still lists Warren ahead of Gainwell after Gainwell totaled 134 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns with Warren sidelined last week. Warren’s knee “just didn’t feel quite right in pregame warmups.” He gets a Week 5 bye to get right before the Steelers take on the Browns in Week 6.

Johnson didn’t touch the ball in Week 3 after making an egregious special teams mistake in Week 2. With Jaylen Warren out for today’s game, Johnson was elevated to RB2 duties versus Minnesota. He looked solid on the ground but did drop his only target. It was a step in the right direction for the rookie, even if he doesn’t have any fantasy appeal heading into the Steelers’ Week 5 bye.

It’s a nightmare scenario for fantasy managers who care about getting their nightly eight hours of sleep. Warren was reportedtly expected to play as of Saturday and was spotted going through warmups this morning. Kenneth Gainwelll figuires to be the team’s top back and should be scooped up in all formats. Warren’s absence could also give rookie Kaleb Johnson a shot at redemption after his kickoff snaffu from Week 2 got him sent to the bench.

The No. 21 overall pick will make his NFL debut today after missing the first two weeks of the season with a knee issue. Running back Kaleb Johnson is active despite making a catastrophic blunder on a kickoff last week that resulted in a Seahawks touchdown. He won’t return kicks but could still be in the backfield mix for a few snaps. Inactive for the Steelers are CB Joey Porter Jr., S DeShon Elliott, OLB Alex Highsmith, G Andrus Peat, and DT Esezi Otomewo.

It was on special teams where Johnson committed a catastrophic error by touching a kickoff and letting the ball roll into the end zone, where Seahawks players fell on the football for a touchdown that essentially sealed the game for Seattle. Already in the dog house for pass protection issues in the summer, Johnson’s kickoff return error could banish him from special teams for his entire rookie campaign. Kenneth Gainwell would be the Steelers’ No. 1 back if Jaylen Warren were to miss time in 2025. There are exceedingly few scenarios in which Johnson gets a crack at weekly usage in the Pittsburgh rushing attack. The rookie has a lot of trust to earn in the coming weeks and months.

On the bright side, he did draw a 15-yard penalty for being hit out of bounds on his first NFL carry. He played just two snaps. Johnson doesn’t necessarily need to be dropped — he’ll likely make in-roads over the first month or so of the season — but he certainly can be in smaller leagues.

He also writes that Gainwell will be “a bigger contributor than most people realize” and that Mike Tomlin’s listing of Gainwell as No. 2 on the depth chart “isn’t just Tomlin playing games with [Kaleb] Johnson.” It sounds like Gainwell could have some fantasy value when the Steelers get into negative game scripts this year, at least as long as he’s able to hold Johnson off from being a major part of the committee.

Tomlin’s comments come after Warren on Tuesday signed a two-year contract extension with the Steelers. “His progress has been very evident and he’s to be congratulated,” Tomlin said of Warren, who in 2024 had 821 total yards and one touchdown, sharing the backfield with Najee Harris. “Certainly he’ll be our featured runner. Certainly you’ll see [Kaleb Johnson/Kenneth Gainwell], but at what time and at what degree [will depend week-to-week].” Warren is listed as the team’s RB1 on their Week 1 depth chart. Gainwell is listed as RB2, and Johnson as RB3. Warren could see a solid workload both as a rusher and a pass catcher in Week 1 against the Jets. He’s flex worthy in all fantasy formats.