The 2025 NFL Draft will be a great event for teams to start building for their future. Here is the Kaleb Johnson NFL Draft Profile.
Position: Running Back
School: Iowa
Size: 6-foot, 225 pounds
Class: Junior
2024 stats: 240 carries, 1,537 rushing yards, 21 rushing touchdowns, 6.4 yards per rush, 22 catches, 188 receiving yards, 2 touchdown receptions
Johnson was a three-start prospect in the class of 2022, who signed with Iowa out of the state of Ohio. He had a great freshman season, totaling 779 rushing yards, 27 receiving yards and six touchdowns. His play helped the Hawkeyes win eight games. In 2023, Johnson had a dip in production with 463 rushing yards, 25 receiving yards and three touchdowns. Iowa was able to win 10 games despite that drop in production. For the 2024 season, Johnson had a great year with 1,537 yards, 188 receiving yards and 23 total touchdowns. The Hawkeyes won eight games on the season.
Following the regular season, Johnson declared for the 2025 NFL Draft. He is a projected day-two pick.
Johnson is a big running back, who stands at 6-foot and 225 pounds. With his size comes great play strength. He can break tackles and has tremendous contact balance. Johnson can be used as a short-yardage back and can be effective in goal-line situations. He has a nice stiff arm that can help free him up for extra yards.
He has good quickness and burst. This helps him as he starts to see a hole. He can put his foot in the ground and get upfield quickly, While he doesn’t have the greatest speed, moving quickly to start a rep can help him pick up yards. With his size and quickness, he can be hard to tackle.
His vision is also solid. Specifically as a zone runner, Johnson shows how to read the line of scrimmage to find the open hole. When nothing is open in front of him, he can find a cut-back lane. When he gets to the second and third levels of the defense, he knows where to run to find the biggest chance at the most yards.
Johnson doesn’t have great speed. He can rip off some big runs, but that is more of a product of his quickness, vision and power. Defenders are able to catch up with him in the open field. He has enough speed to be successful at the NFL level, but it won’t be a calling card of his game.
His agility and lateral mobility aren’t great. Johnson doesn’t change directions well and can struggle to be elusive. Johnson is best using his power to make defenders miss tackles, as he doesn’t have the wiggle or moves to free himself for big runs.
There a few things that Johnson can do to be a better third down back. He can improve his pass protection technique, but his willingness and size can help make him great in this area. Johnson showed some talent as a receiver, but can run more routes, as he mostly was used on screens and swing passes.
Projected Draft Range: Second Round Pick-Third Round Pick
Draft Grade: Second Round Pick
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