When the Pittsburgh Steelers selected Kaleb Johnson in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft, fans had high hopes. Unfortunately, those lofty aspirations of his rookie season came crashing down all at once.

In Week 2 against the Seattle Seahawks, Johnson made an egregious decision on special teams. When attempting to field a kick, the football hit in the landing zone, bounced over Johnson’s head, and went into the end zone. But instead of running back to jump on the ball, Johnson let the opposing team grab the ball in the end zone for a Seahawks touchdown.

This one critical mental lapse was all it took for Johnson to land in Mike Tomlin’s dog house.

In Week 3, our worst fears with Johnson were confirmed. Though I wrote about why it was so important for Mike Tomlin to give the rookie a shot to redeem himself against the New England Patriots, Tomlin went the opposite direction—refusing to let Johnson see the field for a single snap.

Now, entering Week 4, the Kaleb Johnson nightmare could continue across the pond.

Mike Tomlin is making a mistake with Pittsburgh Steelers rookie RB Kaleb Johnson

The Pittsburgh Steelers are in Dublin, Ireland, getting set for their ‘home away from home’ game against the Minnesota Vikings. Though Kaleb Johnson made the trip, he might not be part of the game plan. In fact, if Tomlin continues to dig his heels in, we might not see much of the rookie running back at all this season.

Coach Tomlin has made it clear that he has no patience for players who make costly mental mistakes. However, shunning his 2025 third-round pick isn’t the right approach—especially when the rushing attack has been abysmal early in the season.

The Steelers have the 31st-ranked rushing numbers entering Week 4, both in terms of total yards and yards per attempt. On 67 carries through three games, the Steelers have managed just 189 yards for a dismal 2.8 yards per attempt.

This is hardly the fault of Johnson, who has seen just two total touches on a mere four offensive snaps so far this season. While Jaylen Warren has been busy breaking tackles, the running game has been far from efficient. Johnson needs a shot to show what he can do.

READ MORE: Steelers RB room hinges on 1 big question about Kaleb Johnson

During his junior season at Iowa in 2024, Johnson led the Big Ten in rushing yards and broken tackles en route to a season that included 1,537 rushing yards and 21 rushing touchdowns in 12 games.

At 6’1” and 224 pounds, Johnson has prototype size for a workhorse running back and the long speed to break away from defenders once he gets moving down the field. Unfortunately, we won’t be able to see this on display if Tomlin refuses to play the rookie.

There are more deeply-rooted issues with the Steelers’ rushing attack than Johnson’s benching. The offensive line has been wildly inconsistent at creating rushing lanes, and there hasn’t been much room to run. However, refusing to play the player you drafted to be the future of the running back position in Pittsburgh feels like an overreaction to the special teams error he made.

Mike Tomlin is making a mistake by refusing to play Kaleb Johnson, and Pittsburgh Steelers fans hope the rookie’s punishment is up so he can get back on the field and help this team turn around its rushing attack.