Dolphins RB Thought Steelers Would Draft Him

A current Miami Dolphins running back thought there was a good shot the Pittsburgh Steelers were going to select him instead during the 2025 NFL Draft.

During an appearance on Terron Armstead's "The Set" show, Ollie Gordon II revealed that it was down to the Steelers and Dolphins in terms of where he believed he was going to land because they were the last top-30 visits he took during the pre-draft process.

"I would say it was out of the Dolphins and the Steelers," Gordon said. "Because those were my last two 30 visits I had. It happened to be that I had just [gotten] to Pittsburgh, and Miami contacted my agent and they were like, 'Let's bring him out for a 30 visit.'"

Pittsburgh, who hosted nine running backs on top-30 visits last year, ended up taking Kaleb Johnson in the third round while Gordon fell to Miami in the sixth.

Nov 2, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers running back Kaleb Johnson (20) runs the ball against Indianapolis Colts cornerback Mekhi Blackmon (29) during the third quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Would Steelers Have Been Better Off With Gordon Over Johnson?

Neither Johnson nor Gordon had productive rookie campaigns. The former finished with 78 yards on 29 touches, while the latter had 231 yards and four touchdowns on 77 touches.

While Gordon's numbers far exceed Johnson's, his 2.8 yards per carry show that he wasn't efficient with a heavier workload.

It's not like Johnson was effective over a smaller sample size either though, as he has logged 2.5 yards per attempt.

Playing time was also tough to find for the pair, with Johnson playing behind Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell while Gordon shared a backfield with Devon Achane.

Johnson and Gordon are similar players in that they're bigger, north-and-south running backs whose strength and power are their calling cards over their elusiveness or speed.

Pittsburgh's decision to go with Johnson in the third round made plenty of sense at the time. He was entering Arthur Smith's zone running scheme, a type of system he thrived in at Iowa, and was viewed as the potential future of the position group considering Warren was set to become a free agent after the 2025 campaign.

Warren later signed a two-year, $11.9 million extension, however, and Gainwell's emergence coupled with Johnson's struggles created a perfect storm for the latter to essentially become a non-factor as a rookie.

Johnson had his moments during the offseason program back in May and June, though it's no guarantee that he'll make the 53-man roster under new head coach Mike McCarthy unless he shows tangible progress during training camp and the preseason.

The 22-year-old still has promise, and his career is far from over, but the Steelers may regret using a third-round pick on him when they could've waited until the end of Day 3 to select someone like Gordon.

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