Kaleb Johnson 2025 NFL Draft & Dynasty Profile
Kaleb Johnson 2025 NFL Draft & Dynasty Profile
- Position: RB
- School: Iowa
- Class: Junior
- Date of Birth: August 14, 2003
- Height: 6-0
- Weight: 225 lbs
Kaleb Johnson Bio
From Hamilton, Ohio, Kaleb Johnson starred in football, basketball, and track. He was a three-star recruit in the class of 2022 after earning first-team All-State following a 1,000-yard, 15 touchdown senior season. A number of schools were knocking on his door, including Michigan, Michigan State, Miami, Pit, Kentucky, West Virginia, and others. He received a total of 17 offers, originally committing to Cal before opting for Iowa.
Johnson started six games in 2022, rushing for a school freshman record 779 yards and scoring six touchdowns. At season’s end, Johnson was named All-Big-Ten Honorable Mention. He continued to operate in a shared backfield in 2023, starting five of his 10 games played on his way to 488 total yards and three touchdowns. It was a disappointing sophomore season, highlighted by a high-ankle sprain that cost him three games.
Johnson returned healthy in 2024 and took his game to a whole new level. He hit career highs across the board with 1,537 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns on 240 carries. He added 22 receptions, 188 yards, and two more scores as a receiver. It was enough to earn first-team All-Big-Ten and Big-10 running back of the year.
Johnson leaves Iowa as the team’s sixth all-time leading rusher and one of the top running backs in the 2025 NFL Draft class.
College Stats
Kaleb Johnson college stats courtesy of sports-reference
Positives
- Size
- Vision
- Patience
- Acceleration
- Contact Balance
- Decisive Runner
- Good Hands
- Strong finisher
- Pass Protection
- 2.27 yards per team play (2024)
- 13.5% reception share (2024)
- 57.5% touchdown share (2024)
Negatives
- Lacks true breakaway speed
- Limited route tree
- Underwhelming receiving production
- One year of high-end production (2024)
Highlight Reel
Archetype: Grinder
NFL Comp: Brian Robinson Jr
Performance Score: Coming Soon
Draft Projection: Second Round
NFL Draft & Dynasty Outlook:
Kaleb Johnson is a big back who wins with size, great vision, and contact balance. He is patient enough behind the line of scrimmage to let his blocks unfold, while being decisive enough to hit the open lane when it opens. At that point, he bursts through the hole into the second level with impressive acceleration and explosion. Once into the open field with a head of steam, Johnson is difficult to bring down with one tackler. He uses his size and strength to power through arm tackles with ease, always finishing runs moving forward.
Johnson was fun to watch behind that exceptional offensive line at Iowa. He was so in sync with the blocking scheme and seemed to consistently break through for chunk gains. Johnson is a reliable guy in short-yardage as well. His strength, power, and leg drive allow him to push the pile and gain the necessary yardage to convert at an impressive rate.
Kaleb Johnson was a big-time producer in his final college season. He checked all of the production-based boxes in 2024 and proved he is more than capable of handling a heavy workload. In fact, I am confident he can manage far beyond the 262 touches he received as a junior.
Where Johnson lacks is in his ability to run away from defenders in the open field. Don’t get me wrong, he is good for plenty of big gains but after the initial burst of speed through the line, Johnson is missing that next gear to finish the job. Instead, he’s often caught from behind short of the end zone.
In the passing game, Johnson is a serviceable receiver out of the backfield. He has good hands but was used as more of a reliable check down option than an active weapon. His route tree was extremely limited at Iowa and unlikely to expand a great deal at the NFL level.
With that said, Johnson projects as a workhorse back in the league. He will be the thunder to a running mate’s lightning. He will run with efficiency between the tackles and be a go-to option in short yardage and goal line situations. Johnson won’t be a guy who dances behind the line of scrimmage or tries to bounce too many runs outside. He will run within the scheme, follow his blockers, choose the correct lane, and finish the runs with power. Teams will appreciate his experience in a pro-style rushing scheme. He will especially draw the interest of offenses that utilize a lot of zone concepts where he can maximize his combination of vision, balance, and power. He can be a plug-and-play day one starter, ready to carry the load.
Johnson will likely hear his name called sometime in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft. In dynasty, he’s in the conversation to be as high as the No. 2 running back in the class. Draft capital and landing spot will play a factor, but Kaleb Johnson is looking like a sure fire round one pick in rookie drafts.
NEXT: Isaiah Bond 2025 NFL Draft & Dynasty Profile
RANKINGS DYNASTY
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