Steelers’ rookie defense class delivers early impact, tops AFC North alone

The Pittsburgh Steelers turned a fifth-play turnover into early momentum Sunday against the Cleveland Browns, and a wave of rookie defenders helped deliver a win that put the team alone atop the AFC North at the season’s midway point, the Post-Gazette reported.

With the Steelers leading their fourth straight game, Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson completed a short pass to tight end Harold Fannin Jr. Safety Robert Spears-Jennings came up from his spot and held Fannin while cornerback Daylen Everette ripped the ball from his hands and recovered it in Cleveland territory. Spears-Jennings made his first career start in the game; Everette, a third-round pick, also has started once and had an interception against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers earlier in the season.

Spears-Jennings and Everette Set the Tone in Cleveland

Spears-Jennings, a seventh-round selection and the 224th overall pick, has been the most impressive member of the Steelers’ rookie defensive class. Through eight weeks, he has played 183 snaps, more than any other Steelers rookie on defense, and more over the past two weeks than veteran starter DeShon Elliott, who spent the first six weeks of the season on injured reserve.

At 6 feet 2 and 205 pounds, Spears-Jennings has the size for the safety position, and his 40-yard dash at the 2026 NFL combine helped him get drafted. Secondary coach Joe Whitt Jr. said the only concern when the Steelers drafted him was eye control, because big plays found him in college without it.

“When we drafted the young man, the only thing we needed to do was fix one thing,” Whitt said. “Big plays found him in college because his eye control wasn’t there. That’s the only thing the kid didn’t have.”

Rookie Class Fills Gaps Left by Injuries

Gabriel Rubio, a sixth-round pick, and Kevin Jobity Jr., an undrafted free agent, made their NFL debuts last month after being inactive for the first month of the season. Rubio was called into action when Derrick Harmon went on injured reserve, and Jobity got the call when Sebastian Joseph-Day went down. Jobity recorded his first career sack against the Browns, and Rubio has been a part of the NFL’s third-ranked run defense.

Cam Heyward and Keeanu Benton have played more since the injuries, but the young players have performed well enough that the veterans don’t have to handle the majority of the defensive snaps, which should keep Heyward and Benton fresh later in the season.

Coaches Credit Veterans for Setting the Standard

Defensive line coach Domata Peko pointed to the team’s next-man-up approach. “It’s the next-man-up mentality,” Peko said. “Big shoutout to our older guys — Cam and Keeanu. They do a good job of setting the standard every day.”

The Steelers scouted safeties hard before the 2026 draft, bringing in several top prospects for visits, including Dillon Thieneman and Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, who were selected in the first and second rounds respectively by other teams. Whitt said the staff was impressed by how quickly Spears-Jennings has developed.

“There is nothing from a safety position that this young man cannot do,” Whitt said. “We were very lucky to get him where we got him.” He added that the big plays are why Spears-Jennings fell in the draft, and that through eight weeks he has been one of the league’s better late-round rookies.

“The big plays are why he fell to where he fell,” Whitt said. “He is a phenomenal young player. He’s going to be a good football player for us for a long time.”

“As a young guy, when you see the older guys do it the right way, it makes it a lot easier when your name is called,” Peko said.