Kaleb Johnson

Kaleb Johnson enters the 2026 fantasy football season as a deep-league-only stash for now. CBS Sports notes that he produced just 69 rushing yards on 28 carries as a rookie in 2025 and should not be drafted outside of very deep formats, while FantasyPros says he is currently stuck behind Jaylen Warren and Rico Dowdle on the Steelers’ depth chart.

The big issue for Johnson is opportunity, not talent alone. FantasyPros reports that Pittsburgh head coach Mike McCarthy has given everyone a “clean slate,” but the same source also indicates Johnson still has to fight for meaningful snaps in camp, which makes his path to relevance difficult unless he clearly outperforms the veterans ahead of him.

From a skill-set perspective, Johnson’s profile suggests he may need the right role to matter in fantasy. A dynasty-focused breakdown from The Fantasy Footballers highlighted that he was not heavily used as a pass protector or receiver in college, which supports the idea that his easiest NFL path is on early downs rather than as a complete three-down back.

For 2026 redraft leagues, the outlook is pretty simple: Johnson is only worth considering if you are speculating on an injury or a dramatic camp rise, because the current competition in Pittsburgh gives him very little standalone value. In dynasty leagues, he is still interesting as a former third-round pick with size and youth, but for this season his most realistic fantasy outcome is as a bench stash rather than a lineup regular.

Updated 06/08/2026