4 questions Steelers LB Robert Spillane must answer vs. Titans

Will Spillane be a liability in coverage?

One of the most important questions that all Steelers fans will want to have answered is if Robert Spillane will be a liability in coverage. At 6’1” and 229 pounds, it’s reasonable to think that Spillane isn’t going to move in space as fluidly as Devin Bush, and he doesn’t have Bush’s athleticism to boot.

In addition, Spillane has very minimal experience on defense in general over his career – let alone on coverage snaps. According to Pro Football Reference, Spillane has just 39 career defensive snaps since entering the league in 2018 – most of which came in Week 6 against the Browns.

Of these snaps, a majority of them came on run downs. Though stopping the run is an ability that Spillane flashed multiple times last week alone, trying to defend the pass is another matter entirely. Until we see the young linebacker in pass coverage, we aren’t going to know exactly how well he will fare here.

If this proves to be a big issue in Spillane’s game, the Steelers could be looking for other players to help fill the void; at least situationally. Keep an eye out for Spillane on passing downs this Sunday against the Titans.