5 Steelers that I hope prove me wrong during the 2021 season

Steelers Robert Spillane

There was arguably no better underdog story last year than the rise of Robert Spillane on the defense. Seen as a good special teams’ player and not much else, Spillane suddenly found himself as the starter once Devin Bush was out for the year. Overall, he played well given his status before the year, but it was far from perfect.

With Vince Williams retired, the other starting inside linebacker job is his to lose. Even with Joe Schobert entering the picture, odds are the team still expects Spillane to compete for the job. At the very least, the two will likely rotate in with each other. That said, based on the struggles that Spillane had last season, I wouldn’t expect his 2021 to be a significantly better year for him in terms of production.

Add in the fact that teams have tape on him starting and he has struggled early on in preseason so far and his role has to be questioned. While it is still unclear how much Schobert will play, Spillane will still likely commend some sort of role at least early on in the season. I hope Spillane makes a jump, but all signs point to him regressing this season.