Coming off a draft where the team made 10 selections, Mike McCarthy and the Pittsburgh Steelers have quite a few intriguing young players on the roster. One of those rookies who had a strong offseason is a player to keep an eye on at training camp — safety Robert Spears-Jennings.
During the draft process, NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein touted Spears-Jennings for his size and toughness. But the Steelers grabbed Spears-Jennings with their second-to-last selection in the seventh round. That’s not the typical place for a safety ready to earn a roster spot as a rookie.
On June 16, though, The Athletic’s Mike DeFabo argued Spears-Jennings should do exactly that — compete for one of the final roster spots in the Pittsburgh secondary this summer.
DeFabo even predicted the seventh-round rookie to be successful.
“Safety Sebastian Castro, a UDFA last offseason, was getting a lot of first-team reps in place of Elliott (who wasn’t quite ready for full-team work),” wrote DeFabo. “However, seventh-round rookie safety Robert Spears-Jennings has looked good, and I think they’ll keep him.
“I also expect them to look for a potential safety who gets cut from another team to upgrade that group, and maybe they push Spears-Jennings and Castro to the practice squad.”
Over four seasons at Oklahoma, Spears-Jennings posted 178 combined tackles in 47 career games. The safety had 59 combined tackles, including 1.5 for loss, two pass defenses, 1.5 sacks and one forced fumble during 13 games last season.
Spears-Jennings registered a career-best four forced fumbles as a junior in 2024.
The Steelers selected the safety at No. 224 overall.
Steelers’ Robert Spears-Jennings Had Strong Offseason
GettyThe Pittsburgh Steelers selected safety Robert Spears-Jennings in the seventh round of the 2026 NFL Draft.
DeFabo isn’t the first to report Spears-Jennings was impressive during the Steelers offseason program.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Ray Fittipaldo said during a radio appearance on 93.7 The Fan on June 12 the seventh-round safety stood out this spring.
“I thought he had a good spring,” said Fittipaldo. He’s been kind of under the radar.”
Fittipaldo was complimentary of several Steelers rookies. It’s the time of year for hyping young players, so any praise could be taken with a little salt.
But two different insiders saying Spears-Jennings did well in May and June is a great sign for the seventh-rounder.
Steelers Safety Depth Entering Training Camp
GettyThe Athletic’s Mike DeFabo reported Pittsburgh Steelers seventh-round rookie Robert Spears-Jennings is pushing for a roster spot on Mike McCarthy’s defense.
Before diving into his projection for Spears-Jennings, DeFabo named eight defensive backs that are very likely to be on Pittsburgh’s roster this September. Those eight were DeShon Elliott, Jaquan Brisker, Jalen Ramsey, Joey Porter Jr., Jamel Dean, Asante Samuel Jr., Daylen Everette and Brandin Echols.
Only the first three players could play safety. In all likelihood, the ninth and potentially final defensive back roster spot will be a safety.
DeFabo didn’t rule out the Steelers acquiring a new safety this summer. For now, though, the most likely candidates for the ninth DB spot are Spears-Jennings, Sebastian Castro, Darnell Savage and Jack Henderson.
Savage has the most experience of the group. He’s started 83 NFL games in his seven-year career. However, two different teams cut Savage last year.
Of the other three, Castro is the only one with NFL experience. All of that experience last season, though, was on special teams. Like Henderson and Spears-Jennings, Castro has never had a snap on defense in an NFL regular season contest.
In a perfect world, the Steelers will keep 10 defensive backs, giving them room for both Spears-Jennings and Castro. But it does appear the two young safeties are set to battle for one of the final roster spots in Pittsburgh this summer.
Steelers Under-the-Radar Big Rookie Pushing for Role on Mike McCarthy’s Defense