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RB Kaleb Johnson, PIT (2 Viewers)
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JohnnyU
Footballguy
Derrick Henry traits. I may have to rethink him. Iāve been down on Johnson when comparing him to some ther RBs in this class. Iām going to learn more and have an open mind. Itās hard when his running lanes were a mile wide. Iāll concentrate more on what he does after contact and his ability to make people miss. I donāt see a huge receiving profile, but he did have 22 last year. So, he could be OK with that. Again, Iām going to have more of an open mind with Johnson.
rockaction
Footballguy
I'm still not that a big a fan but am open to being wrong. I still don't see what separates me too many degrees from guys with MFAs from Iowa. I mean, they can write. That I'm jealous of or covet their ability to do so. But @thorku also hung his hat on Justin Fields's processing ability. We saw how that turned out. I don't buy some of these guys as far as I can throw them. And it's not slagging the entire person or the "FANTASY IN BIO" joke that was making the rounds two years ago. It's about this generalized rush to anoint greatness when my eyes aren't seeing it. I'm hesitant to do that or take someone's word for it when the guy's top credential is an MFA, no matter the school. It's not football school.
May I just leave that emoji there?
May I just leave that emoji there?
JohnnyU
Footballguy
I think the biggest mistake fantasy players make is they form an opinion early and are bullish to the bitter end (me included), and miss out on good players because we donāt go back and give them a more thorough analysis.I'm still not that a big a fan but am open to being wrong. I still don't see what separates me too many degrees from guys with MFAs from Iowa. I mean, they can write. That I'm jealous of or covet their ability to do so. But @thorku also hung his hat on Justin Fields's processing ability. We saw how that turned out. I don't buy some of these guys as far as I can throw them. And it's not slagging the entire person or the "FANTASY IN BIO" joke that was making the rounds two years ago. It's about this generalized rush to anoint greatness when my eyes aren't seeing it. I'm hesitant to do that or take someone's word for it when the guy's top credential is an MFA, no matter the school. It's not football school.
May I just leave that emoji there?
rockaction
Footballguy
I think the biggest mistake fantasy players make is they form an opinion early and are bullish to the bitter end (me included), and miss out on good players because we donāt go back and give them a more thorough analysis.I'm still not that a big a fan but am open to being wrong. I still don't see what separates me too many degrees from guys with MFAs from Iowa. I mean, they can write. That I'm jealous of or covet their ability to do so. But @thorku also hung his hat on Justin Fields's processing ability. We saw how that turned out. I don't buy some of these guys as far as I can throw them. And it's not slagging the entire person or the "FANTASY IN BIO" joke that was making the rounds two years ago. It's about this generalized rush to anoint greatness when my eyes aren't seeing it. I'm hesitant to do that or take someone's word for it when the guy's top credential is an MFA, no matter the school. It's not football school.
May I just leave that emoji there?
Very true. I just wrote a long thing, but it was TL;DR, so I'll keep it short. I try very hard not to do thatāto the point of going back into threads and owning my wrongness so that I remember to not do exactly what you're saying. It's hard in this case because I won't see a share of Kaleb Johnson in my two leagues, so you're naturally not as gracious with the player when you've been excluded from the possibility of taking him. But I'm also trying my hardest to be fair and clean that bias right out of my system.
Johnson isn't necessarily my style of runner, I'll admit. Running backs are like heavyweight fighters. You have styles you fall in love with. Some like Ali. I love Frazier. ĀÆ\_(ć)_/ĀÆ
Willie Mays Hayes
Footballguy
What showed out the most about Kaleb Johnson's combine is his overall lack of explosion. He has build-up speed but not much acceleration out of the gates. I'm concerned that this will be an achilles heel at the NFL level. If his momentum stops, he takes too long to get moving again.
JohnnyU
Footballguy
Henry has similar traits with regards to build up speed.
I keep thinking James Conner with Johnson. I think after the combine, he's probably falling to round 3, not necessarily because of what he did, but a combo of that and how others tore up.
Alex P Keaton
Footballguy
As long as he isnāt Shonn Greeneā¦.
crushedspirit
Footballguy
Good comp for Kaleb is probably Rashaad Penny. A runner who needs a moment to get up to speed and will struggle to create on his own. A one cut and go type. He needs to find the right zone offensive fit for his run style.
brewer
Footballguy
I know this comp is too long ago for a lot of you and I understand that the Iowa uniforms are probably influencing my thoughts, but I see a lot of Franco Harris in Johnson's game. Upright running style, very much a glider. He is big and strong and can deliver a blow but he is just as happy to make a business decision at the end of a productive run and get out of bounds instead of taking a pounding. He's not a burner, but gets to his top speed quickly.
I've seen a lot of people moving Johnson down their lists lately to the 4-6 RB prospect in this draft. Ultimately, I think they will regret that.
I've seen a lot of people moving Johnson down their lists lately to the 4-6 RB prospect in this draft. Ultimately, I think they will regret that.
socrates
Footballguy
I am one of those who has slid Kaleb Johnson down to RB5 in this class, but it really is no slight at all to Johnson. Jeanty and Hampton were always 1-2, Judkins aced the Combine, and Henderson adds the receiving profile to go along with 4.43 speed. I would be giddy to get any of these five backs.
One thing I'll add about Kaleb Johnson, is I think he has the best vision of any RB in this class.
pinkstapler
Footballguy
I think his ceiling is prime Lev Bell, and find it ironic how popular it's become for mocks to put him on the Steelers over the past few weeks. I just said earlier today in another thread, his vision and patience behind the line (granted in an outside zone run scheme) are two of his most elite traits. Unfortunately, they can also make people at times see him as slow/not explosive watching cut ups of him; and obviously there aren't many, if any, drills he did at the combine to showcase those skills either.
He was the offense for Iowa. They got over 110 yards passing I believe in 4 of 12 games this past year haha. I have to imagine every single opponent they played spent 80% of their defensive prep that week for Kaleb Johnson alone. And he still put up great numbers and was a Doak finalist.
PlayerProfiler
In a historically fast RB class, Kaleb Johnson's 4.57 40-yard dash leaves something to be desired
Is he dropping in your RB rankings even with a 73rd percentile speed score?
32 Counter Pass
Footballguy
So, 100th of a second slower than Antonio Brown. Got it.PlayerProfiler
In a historically fast RB class, Kaleb Johnson's 4.57 40-yard dash leaves something to be desired
Is he dropping in your RB rankings even with a 73rd percentile speed score?
40 times are a vastly overrated test.
KJ has better game speed, and relies heavily on his power. Again, a non-issue
pinkstapler
Footballguy
I've always thought the short shuttle and especially the three cone were much more revealing than a 40 time. Unfortunately not that many did the 3 cone this year either. Typically anything under 7 seconds is pretty indicative of some really good ability to change direction/momentum effortlessly.So, 100th of a second slower than Antonio Brown. Got it.PlayerProfiler
In a historically fast RB class, Kaleb Johnson's 4.57 40-yard dash leaves something to be desired
Is he dropping in your RB rankings even with a 73rd percentile speed score?
40 times are a vastly overrated test.
KJ has better game speed, and relies heavily on his power. Again, a non-issue
He models his game after Henry and he got bad reviews too.
Being sincere- it's not uncommon to ding a guy for being too upright or for lack of burst when feet are stopped. There's a whole lot of players that those were correct dings on.
Spoiled so spoiled by Henry. A tank could run into him and he wouldn't fall down but it'll get a dent in it.
There is some truth to this. Foster (or Bam Morris or Jacobs or D'onta Foreman or...) seems fine for comparison too.
Non superman backs get smashed and smashed and oh btw here's another hit to absorb. Then they tweak their ankle or knee and social media arguments are that it wasn't from the hit. He had to brace himself and absorb and...does it matter? The guy is hurt either way.
Most teams are looking for 4-5 year backs. It's a different game. Jeanty can be ten years like Bijan but they're so rare.
This kid needs to work on pass protection (and he has said he is and knows it) to get on the field asap. He's a good interview and maybe rehearsed but he literally says everything you want to hear.
I'm excited for him after watching some videos but I do have my doubts when he looks stuck in mud.
Perine should be studied more. Maybe y'all can explain him to me. He was a fun college back and human bowling ball expression worked too. It took him 3? years in the NFL to adjust something and contribute. His style did not work at all at first.
I would like to know why Perine didn't work but "that guy" did.
Why did the Boys draft Leupke and not really utilize his rough style? I felt they had every reason to last year. He's more Alstott like but still probably pertains to violent style.
Zeirlein doesn't like his lateral movement. I see it. He's got it. He stops though and needs to be coached. He sidesteps out of trouble then someone needs to yell go go go! There's an awkward pause. I think that's very fixable and I wonder if he can't be even better once he fixes that
cdclopper
Footballguy
All I notice when watching this dude is wide open lanes all the time. Probably a combination of the o-line and his vision. But he doesn't get past the second level very often. I don't want to say red flag, but the best best case for him, seems to me, is Josh Jacobs. Probably more like David Mongomery with less wiggle or Najee Harris with better vision.
Harjiran
Footballguy
Been wrong before and maybe I'm missing something here but I want no part of Kaleb Johnson - when I watch him run, I don't see any shiftiness or wiggle or elusiveness, just straight line runs behind a dominant OL. He has some power and speed, decent vision but not enough to overcome his obvious deficiencies. He screams bust to me, an exceptional athlete in college but not a football player at the NFL level - landing spot will determine his value ultimately but I don't think he'll be on any of my fantasy teams, for better or worse.
LawFitz
Footballguy
Yeah, I see this with a lot of hyped RB prospects. Omar Hampton has similiar faults. Fairly, both of them could absolutely excel with the right team and blocking scheme. One cut and get upfield is where RBs like these two thrive.
BigTex
Don't mess with Texas
Heās 6ā0 at 221 pounds, he does what a locomotive is supposed to do! Choo! Choo!
Tex
Austin Abbott
I honestly think about this Kaleb Johnson TD at least once a day Iām not gonna lie man
6ā1
For what itās worth, his 48.9% Dominator Rating ranked in the 99th Percentile..
2024 Stats: (12 Games)
Shades of Marshawn Lynch..
As many people have pointed out but the problem is the lack of teams who run that system who need a RB. I've drafted him a few times in redraft as like rookie RB5 and once I realized the predicament of how few teams that need a RB run this system I cooled considerably.
I know you are talking dynasty, but a RB without a clear cut path for a year or two is going to get knocked.
I think the best possible draft outcome for his value is for the Bears to take him with one of their seconds or even pick 72 if he fell that far. Steelers with their third would not be bad either if he fell that far but that's right outside what I generally view as premium investment for RB.
But as someone already invested in him I know I"m going to be pulling for Jeanty to go before the Bears pick in round one.
JohnnyU
Footballguy
You think Johnson would go before Hampton? I don't think so.
King of the Jungle
Footballguy
You donāt like the Bears as a landing spot for Jeanty? I think it is sneaky greatā¦
I'm talking about what I want to happen for Kaleb Johnson and if the Bears drafted Jeanty in round one that would all but officially close the door on them drafting Kaleb.
I don't have 1.1 so have no reason to be pulling for Jeanty to land well.
King of the Jungle
Footballguy
Sorry, lazy reading on my part.
osubuckeyeman
Footballguy
His 40-time is a cause for some concern, but his vision is excellent. He runs a little upright. I do see potential for him, just based on his vision alone. He runs angled a little bit, creating space for himself and the defenders, which is not something you see a lot of. A guy that size to have fitness is interesting. He feels like he has tweener skills. In my eyes, he's a boom-or-bust player. It's hard to evaluate the transition to the NFL. I wish he had better testing numbers, but his film is pretty good. I see comments on him running through open lanes, but some of that he created with his angle of running and vision if you watch closely. Put the film in slow motion, and you can see it more easily.
Ilov80s
Footballguy
Great fit and easy to see him in the Najee role. Kaleb isnāt the quickest back in the league but heās an improvement from Najee on big play ability.
LawFitz
Footballguy
Vision and lateral movement are leaps better than Najee.
KellysHeroes
Footballguy
If they can get Rodgers to sign he's top 6
5-ish Finkle
Footballguy
Far, far better zone runner than Naj, no doubt about that.
Harris is the epitome of a gap runner. Zero vision and little patience. "Play sez run in to the B Gap as hard as I can? Sweet, Imma do that no matter whether I have to run up my OL's back or not."
I'm so anxious to see the kid that models his game after Henry in an Arthur offense and a Tomlin offense.
I gotta calm expectations and remember it took Henry some time to get going.
The Steelers have often had a back that could possibly carry fifty times but wouldn't. Bring that vibe back to Pittsburgh. Eight in the box? We're going deep.
I've got my doubts. He's not elite, he's very good.
I've long thought Smith and Tomlin are a great marriage. The workhorse back and OL are essential though
I gotta calm expectations and remember it took Henry some time to get going.
The Steelers have often had a back that could possibly carry fifty times but wouldn't. Bring that vibe back to Pittsburgh. Eight in the box? We're going deep.
I've got my doubts. He's not elite, he's very good.
I've long thought Smith and Tomlin are a great marriage. The workhorse back and OL are essential though
bryhamm
Footballguy
pretty sure that first article was written by AI. it references Kenny Pickett and Najee Harris still being with the Steelers.
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