After a flurry of moves on Sunday, the Green Bay Packers running back room looks quite different than it did just last week. Josh Jacobs is out, at least for now, and Kaleb Johnson is in. 

Who is Kaleb Johnson you might ask? Well you came to right spot, let me tell you what I’ve learned about him. 

First off, Johnson is an interesting study. There’s some real NFL talent there to unearth, but there’s also some notable limitations that should be discussed. 

Let’s start with Johnson’s college career. Johnson played 3 seasons at the University of Iowa. His real breakout came in 2024 when he turned in the following stat line: 

  • 12 games played 
  • 8 games with over 100 yards rushing
  • 240 carries 
  • 1,537 rushing yards
  • 6.4 yards per carry 
  • 21 rushing TDs 
  • 21 receptions 
  • 188 receiving yards 
  • 2 receiving TDs 

Johnson’s numbers jump off the page. Strong numbers like these were part of the reason that he generated buzz in the 2025 draft class. In the weeks leading up to that draft, I remember hearing a fair amount of analysts putting Johnson in the same tier as guys like Omarion Hampton or Quinshon Judkins, two players who both ended up getting picked higher than Johnson. 

While Johnson hasn’t yet panned out like those guys, you can see why his college production had people putting him in their class. 

Johnson also has an impressive athletic build. Coming in at 6’1” and 225lbs, he is one of the bigger running backs the Green Bay Packers have had in recent years. He is 3 inches taller than both Josh Jacobs and Aaron Jones and tips the scales at roughly the same weight as Jacobs. His closest size comparison here would be all time beloved Green Bay Packer Jamaal Williams, who is listed at 6’0” 224lbs. 

So, beyond the numbers how good did he actually look in college? 

Well, it should be noted that Kaleb Johnson came up in the Iowa offense behind one of the best college football offensive lines I’ve ever seen. It is hard to overstate how good they were. Playing with that line in 2024 must have been an absolute dream for Johnson as a college running back, and that line was a massive reason for Johnson’s success in 2024. 

That offense ran zone concepts so incredibly well, it was almost like watching clinic teach tapes. Johnson thrived in that system and developed a strong ability to quickly make his reads while running in that zone scheme. 

For those of you that don’t know, zone running schemes place a larger onus on the running back to make correct reads. On your classic outside zone running play, there isn’t a specified hole the running back is supposed to hit. Rather the back must read the blocks in front/the flow of the linebackers before quickly deciding whether to bend or bounce the run. Think of the Aaron Jones running style. 

This is something that Kaleb Johnson did incredibly well during his time at Iowa, and it’s something the Packers will try to get him doing again. It is a real skill for him, and not one that all running backs do well. 

After effectively switching Josh Jacobs out for Kaleb Johnson, look for the Packers to run a higher percentage of zone runs compared to gap scheme or man runs than they did last season. At least early in the season. 

Johnson consistently got what was there for him. Throughout his time at Iowa, he did a good job of quickly finding holes and exploiting them. He may not have home run hitter speed, but he was plenty fast enough to hit the holes before they closed on him. 

So, why hasn’t Kaleb Johnson panned out so far?? 

I think there’s a lot of ways to answer this question, and hopefully the Green Bay Packers can find the answers to some of these questions. 

First, I do think Johnson is somewhat limited as an athlete. Johnson ran a 4.58 40-yard dash at the combine in 2025. That time shows decent speed, but it’s only good as far as relative speed goes. 

4.58 is a good time for someone who weighs 225lbs to run but is pretty slow compared to some of the lighter backs in the league. 

This wouldn’t be a problem for Johnson if he more consistently ran like someone who actually weighs 225lbs. For a taller and heavier guy, Kaleb Johnson breaks tackles with somewhat alarming rarity. Even defensive backs have been able to get him down with relative ease. 

That just shouldn’t be the case. A big and tall running back like Johnson should be wreaking havoc on corners and safeties in the open field, but too often he gets tripped up around the ankles or brought down with an arm tackle. 

I think we saw this a little bit with AJ Dillon. Dillon was a huge and bruising back who in theory should have been near impossible to tackle. We just never saw that come to fruition and it led to his eventual departure from the Packers. 

Second, I also wonder about Johnson’s lateral agility. You don’t see too many examples of it on tape, and Kaleb also declined to do all combine testing outside of the 40-yard dash. That usually doesn’t bode well. 

If Kaleb Johnson can’t improve his ability to break tackles, either by running through people or eluding them with lateral agility, then he’ll struggle to reach his full potential in the NFL. Hopefully a new coaching staff that believes in him enough to trade for him can be the cure. 

Overall, I think Johnson could be a solid back for the Green Bay Packers. He likely won’t have the flashiest highlight reel, and his yards per carry average might not look that great. But he can be a reliable back that has enough athleticism to get what the offensive line provides for him. 

I actually think that Jamaal Williams is a solid Packers comparison for him. Williams was good in short yardage, ran strong, always fell forward, but didn’t have the open field juice to make all the flashy plays that Aaron Jones did. Over time, those two became an awesome thunder and lightning type duo. 

There’s at least theoretical potential that could happen with Kaleb Johnson and Marshawn Lloyd. Lloyd will have to stay healthy, and Johnson will have to learn how to run behind his pads much better than he does now. But I could at least see that happening. 

For now I am just happy all the Packers had to do was give up a 2028 6th rounder. For a guy like Kaleb Johnson, I’d say that it’s worth it. Go Pack Go!