Ex-Steelers Super Bowl Champion Offers Praise for Pair of Pit Playmakers

The Pittsburgh Steelers will have a defense filled with veterans in 2025. The team will also have veterans at key positions on offense, but if the Steelers offense is going to be better than last season, the unit will likely need significant contributions from young playmakers such as Kaleb Johnson and Roman Wilson.

Steelers Super Bowl champion defensive tackle and analyst Chris Hoke liked what he saw from both the running back and wide receiver in Week 1 of the preseason.

“You’ve got to make the first guy miss. He stiffed-armed; he got outside, got some positive yardage when a lot of times we saw last year running backs were going down on contact at the first guy,” Hoke said of Johnson’s play Saturday on the KDKA Nightly Sports Call, via Steelers Depot’s Troy Montgomery. “So, I really liked what I see from Kaleb Johnson.

On Wilson, Hoke said, via Steelers Depot’s Jake Brockhoff: “He wasn’t where he wanted to be on the depth chart when it first came out, and he came out today and established himself as a guy who can play when the lights turn on.”

Chris Hoke High on Steelers’ Kaleb Johnson

Johnson had more carries than any other Pittsburgh running back in Week 1 of the preseason versus the Jacksonville Jaguars. He left something to be desired from a yards per carry perspective, averaging 2.5 yards per carry.

But rushing efficiency is not something a lot of offenses have in Week 1 of the preseason. Hoke also saw Johnson getting more than what one might expect based on the blocking that was in front of him.

The biggest criticism Hoke had for Johnson was in pass protection.

“On the one sack earlier in the game, Mason [Rudolph] wanted to check it down to him, and he stayed in to protect,” Hoke said. “There’s been a lot of talk about ‘Can Kaleb Johnson protect?’ That’s a big part of why he needs to be out there getting these reps because he needs to protect Aaron Rodgers in the regular season.

“He stayed in there too long, didn’t leak out for the safety valve but Kaleb Johnson broke tackles.”

Johnson is competing to split backfield opportunities with veteran Jaylen Warren this season. The Steelers drafted Johnson in the third round this past spring to help replace free agent departure Najee Harris.

WR Roman Wilson Stands out in Steelers Preseason Opener?

Similar to Johnson, Wilson didn’t shine on the stat sheet. He was one of 14 Steelers pass catchers with one or two catches Saturday night.

On two targets, Wilson posted two receptions for 24 yards.

But one of his catches was a 19-yard gain. The former Steelers defensive tackle saw the preseason opener as a productive week for the second-year wideout.

“It doesn’t matter what you do on the practice field,” Hoke added. “It’s important, but what really matters to these coaches is when the lights turn on, when you have an opponent in front of you, when there’s a little bit of intensity and pressure, can you perform?

“Roman Wilson did.”

Wilson entered Week 1 of the preseason as a third team receiver. Depth charts in August don’t mean a whole lot, but Wilson’s place on the chart was something that stood out to a lot of pundits.

It will be interesting to see if Wilson earned a higher spot on the depth chart next week with his performance in Jacksonville.