Seventh-round picks are almost never a lock to make NFL 53-man rosters, especially not in a crowded draft class of 10 rookies. But that\u2019s exactly what S Robert Spears-Jennings is on track to do. He impressed throughout the spring, setting himself up for an unlikely roster push in late August.<\/p>\n
\u201cOften when there\u2019s a seventh-round pick, you\u2019re just saying, \u2018Okay, this guy ran the fastest 40 of any safety in the draft. He\u2019s big, he\u2019s long, let\u2019s take a look.\u2019 I think it\u2019s more than that with Robert Spears-Jennings,\u201d The Athletic\u2019s Mike DeFabo said on his Yinziders podcast<\/a>. \u201cHe looked good during OTAs. I think the coaching staff liked what they saw from him in a number of different way. I think that he\u2019s playing his way onto this team, at least the 53-man roster.<\/p>\n \u201cHe has all the things to be an outstanding special teams guy, and then maybe they can continue to develop him more.\u201d<\/p>\n Depth safeties need to be a factor on special teams. Spears-Jennings\u2019 ability on those units is even more critical than his potential on defense right now. He was a three-unit special teams player at Oklahoma last season and has 505 snaps of experience across all five units in college.<\/p>\n Beyond his special teams abilities, Spears-Jennings can add a dimension of speed to the back half of the Steelers\u2019 defense. Other than Jamel Dean\u2019s blazing-fast 4.3-second 40 seven years ago, Pittsburgh\u2019s secondary lacks top-end speed. Spears-Jennings can eventually help fix that.<\/p>\n