GREEN BAY – The Packers have bolstered their running back depth by acquiring Kaleb Johnson in a trade with the Steelers on Sunday.
Green Bay surrendered a 2028 sixth-round draft pick, which is what was received from Miami in the trade involving QB Kyle McCord earlier in the day.
Here are five things to know about the new addition:
1. Pittsburgh drafted Johnson in the third round last year.
The Steelers used the No. 83 overall pick on Johnson (6-1, 224), who was the sixth of 26 running backs taken in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Of those 26, only five were from the Big Ten, and Johnson was taken third of the five after the Ohio State duo of Quinshon Judkins (Browns, second round, No. 36) and TreVeyon Henderson (Patriots, second round, No. 38).
2. He played sparingly as a rookie.
A deep third on Pittsburgh's depth chart at running back behind Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell, Johnson had just 28 carries for 69 yards and one reception for nine yards over 10 games during his rookie season.
He had back-to-back games in Weeks 3-4 with six carries apiece, but then he touched the ball more than two times in a game only once the rest of the season.
3. A former Packers draft pick has taken his spot in Pittsburgh.
This summer, it appears Johnson lost the battle for No. 3 RB in Pittsburgh to Lew Nichols, a Packers seventh-round draft pick in 2023 who had injury issues as a rookie and never played for Green Bay.
Nichols led the Steelers in rushing in the preseason with 20 carries for 87 yards and a TD. Nichols had 10 carries for 36 yards and a score against the Packers in the preseason opener two weeks ago.
4. He was a force in his final year at Iowa.
Johnson's 2024 season with the Hawkeyes was one of the best in school history. He was named second-team All-America by the Associated Press, a finalist for the Doak Walker award as the nation's top running back, and the winner of the Ameche-Dayne Big Ten Running Back of the Year award.
He had 240 carries for 1,537 rushing yards (6.4 avg.) and a school-record 21 rushing TDs in 12 games (11 starts). His 23 total TDs also set a school mark while his rushing yards ranked first in the Big Ten, third in school history and seventh in the FBS in 2024. He scored a TD in every game that season, the longest streak ever by an Iowa player.
Johnson also led the Hawkeyes in rushing in 2022 as a true freshman with 779 yards. His production fell off in 2023 in part due to missing three games because of injuries.
5. He's still a very young player.
After three years at Iowa, Johnson was only 21 when the Steelers drafted him, and he just turned 23 earlier this month. The Hamilton, Ohio, native was a three-sport letterman in high school in football, basketball and track.
