Dallas Cowboys 2025 draft scouting report: RB Kaleb Johnson

We proceed our 2025 NFL Draft preview of draft prospects that would curiosity the Dallas Cowboys. In the present day we’re working again Kaleb Johnson from Iowa.

RB
Iowa Hawkeyes
Junior
3-star recruit
6’1”
224 lbs

Historical past

Kaleb Johnson was born on the 14th August 2003 and is initially from Hamilton, Ohio. He was a three-star recruit out of Hamilton Excessive College, the place he was identified for his dimension, energy, and sturdiness as a workhorse again. He joined the Iowa Hawkeyes in 2022 having acquired 17 affords from totally different faculties.

At Iowa, Johnson made a right away influence as a freshman, main the staff in dashing with 779 yards and 6 touchdowns, together with a standout efficiency towards Purdue the place he ran for 200 yards. He earned Freshman All-Massive Ten honors for his effort.

In 2023, his manufacturing dipped barely resulting from offensive struggles and decrease physique accidents, however he remained the staff’s high again and displayed his mixture of energy, straight-line velocity, and imaginative and prescient. He performed in 10 video games throughout his sophomore yr and made 117 rush makes an attempt for 463 rush yards and two dashing touchdowns.

Then in 2024, Johnson had his breakout season. He bounced again from a difficult 2023 marketing campaign and reestablished himself as Iowa’s lead again and offensive point of interest. He rushed for 1,537 yards with 21 touchdowns, each most within the Massive Ten. He confirmed improved endurance, imaginative and prescient, and a extra constant burst by the road.

Regardless of Iowa’s offensive limitations, Johnson’s skill to grind out powerful yards, break tackles, and end runs stood out and assist Iowa on offense in some ways. He additionally showcased improved receiving skill, including versatility to his sport. His 2024 efficiency solidified him as a reliable, bodily again with NFL potential, particularly in power-running schemes. His excellence on the working again place throughout the Massive Ten convention was awarded with Massive Ten Working Again of the Yr, First-Group honors, All-American honors and was the winner of the Roy J. Carver Most Helpful Participant, which acknowledged his excellent contributions to Iowa’s soccer staff.

2024 Statistics

450 Offensive Snaps
240 Rush Makes an attempt
1,537 Rush Yards
6.4 Yards Pre Carry
21 Speeding TDs
22 Receptions
188 Receiving Yards
2 Rec TD
0 Fumbles
71 First Downs
0 Penalties

NFL Mix/Professional Day

10-Yard Break up- 1.56s (53%)
40-Yard Sprint- 4.57s (63%)

Awards

All-America (2024)
Massive Ten Working Again of the Yr (2024)
First-Group All-Massive Ten (2024)

Scorecard

General- 82.6
Velocity- 68
Acceleration- 77
Agility- 71
Energy- 90
Tackling- 77
Contact Steadiness- 92
Imaginative and prescient- 87
Elusiveness- 71
Receiving- 61
Blocking- 55
Self-discipline- 99

THE GOOD

• His dimension provides him a pure benefit in short-yardage conditions and energy runs, making him powerful to convey down with arm tackles.
• Certainly one of Johnson’s standout traits is his skill to learn the protection and look ahead to working lanes to develop.
• Reveals endurance on the line of scrimmage, ready for his blockers to arrange earlier than making a decisive reduce.
• Has nice skill to interrupt tackles persistently, sustaining his velocity after preliminary contact.
• He accelerates rapidly as soon as he finds a lane, constructing velocity with spectacular straight-line burst.
• He demonstrates good consciousness in tight areas, securing the soccer effectively. Zero fumbles in 2024.
• His highly effective decrease physique and talent to maintain his legs churning make him a tricky again to cease within the open discipline.
• His skill to seek out the crease and make one fast transfer upfield is an enormous plus.

THE BAD

• Johnson is extra of a north-south runner. Whereas he could make one fast reduce, his lateral agility shouldn’t be elite, and he struggles to make defenders miss in tight areas.
• He’s not identified for making flashy strikes or shaking tacklers with fast shifts.
• He nonetheless must refine his abilities in go safety, significantly when going through fast blitzes.
• He isn’t an enormous receiving menace that can look to interrupt out for giant yardage after the catch, which limits his versatility on passing downs.
• Johnson has respectable velocity for his dimension, however he doesn’t have elite breakaway velocity or acceleration to outrun defensive backs.
• Simply caught from behind.

THE FIT

Kaleb Johnson tasks as a stable, late Day 2 decide, seemingly within the third spherical vary. He may contribute immediately as a rotational again or in short-yardage and goal-line conditions. Whereas he is probably not an elite pass-catching or change-of-pace again, his energy, imaginative and prescient, and consistency make him a useful asset to a staff that runs a conventional, power-based offense. With additional growth in go safety and receiving, Johnson may carve out a big function within the NFL.

His strengths lie in his dimension, energy, and talent to interrupt tackles, making him a tricky, downhill runner. He has glorious imaginative and prescient and endurance, permitting him to seek out working lanes and maximize yardage. His steadiness after contact and straight-line burst are additionally notable. Nonetheless, his weaknesses embody restricted lateral agility, which makes him much less elusive in tight areas, and his go safety abilities may use enchancment. Moreover, he isn’t a dynamic menace within the passing sport limiting his attraction as a dual-threat again.

Johnson might be a stable match for the Dallas Cowboys as a bodily, between-the-tackles runner to enrich their newly constructed backfield. With Javonte Williams serving because the extra dynamic again, Johnson’s energy, imaginative and prescient, and talent to interrupt tackles would offer a pleasant steadiness to the offense, particularly in short-yardage and goal-line conditions. His skill to churn out powerful yards and put on down defenses could be useful in grinding out clock management, making him a perfect complement to Williams versatility and never put on him down. Moreover, Johnson’s dimension and energy make him a superb match for the Cowboys’ energy working schemes.

Johnson would come into Dallas extra because the crash runner and never because the each down again. His lack of skill as a receiver or in go safety make him a bit for use in apparent working conditions or to manage the ball. Given Williams’ previous historical past with accidents this makes Johnson a slight gamble, and much more so given his Day 2 valuation.

COMPARISON:

David Montgomery, Detroit Lions

BTB GRADE:

forty seventh

CONSENSUS RANKING

67th
(Consensus rating based mostly on the common rating from 90 main scoring companies, together with BTB)