Last offseason, the Pittsburgh Steelers were unsure exactly of what they had at the inside linebacker position outside of the veteran of the group, Lawrence Timmons. In two were second-year player Vince Williams and Sean Spence, who, entering his third year, had not played a meaningful down of football due to a gruesome knee injury.
Which is why the Steelers did not hesitate to pull the trigger on inside linebacker Ryan Shazier with the 15th overall pick in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft—and why they immediately plugged him into the starting lineup, hoping that he would quickly claim ownership of it.