Late in the seventh round of the 2026 NFL Draft, you're throwing a dart at the wall to see if it sticks. That's what the Pittsburgh Steelers did with their boom-or-bust draft pick. With the 224th pick in the final round of the draft, the Steelers turned their card in for Oklahoma safety Robert Spears-Jennings.
Spears-Jennings looks the part. The Sooners' defensive back measured in at nearly 6'2'' and 205 pounds at the NFL Combine. His 32 1/2'' arms and 10 3/8'' hands look like what general managers would choose if they could build a safety from scratch.
The big defensive back combined excellent size with remarkable speed, posting a blazing 4.32 40-yard dash at the Combine. Meanwhile, Spears-Jennings recorded an interception in back-to-back seasons for the Sooners.
But when it sounds too good to be true, that's typically because it is.
The Pittsburgh Steelers found an explosive but unpolished safety in Robert Spears-Jennings
While the timed speed and size profile are terrific, Spears-Jennings is stiff-hipped and unpolished. His lack of discipline at times in the secondary has led to coverage lapses, and he barely forced incompletions when the ball was thrown in his direction in 2025.
Meanwhile, Spears-Jennings struggles with lateral movement and hip fluidity in the secondary. This was evidenced by his concerning 4.43 short shuttle at his Oklahoma Pro Day (which is good for just the 34th percentile among safety prospects entering the NFL, according to Relative Athletic Score.
All of this led Spears-Jennings to a dismal 49.6 coverage grade in 2025, per Pro Football Focus.
If you put on his tape from the 2024 season, there's much more to be encouraged by, but his struggles in coverage still remain. Spears-Jennings is hardly a safe prospect, but he's an explosive straight-line athlete who could be fun for a special teams coach like Danny Crossman to work with.
If Robert Spears-Jennings is able to climb the ladder to make the Steelers' roster, he projects as a reserve safety who can serve on special teams coverage units. It will be interesting to see how he looks next to his peers during his rookie training camp this summer.
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